The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same
by Jianna
Summary: Begins roughly around the time of “The Bubble” but follows a very different storyline. Focuses mostly on original characters with some Silver and Ryan thrown in there for flavor. A bit soapy but should be fun. BD nothing tragic! and BK mostly.
1. Chapter 1

"That dress is fantastic

_Author's Notes:_

_Hey everyone! I'm not really sure where to file this story under. It's either 90210 or Beverly Hills 90210 and since I love the original far more and since this will feature those characters far more, I'm going to post it under there. However, you will see some of the new characters as well. Hope they don't put you to sleep. ;)_

_Anyway… This story is sort of inspired by __brendylan's _Love Not Forgotten, _a brilliant Brenda/Dylan fiction taking place during the new 90210 as well. If you haven't read it, go check it out. It's great! _

_This story is going to focus mostly on Brenda, Brandon, Kelly, and Dylan but this first part is just setting up the premise so you'll only be seeing Annie and Silver. Don't give up on me yet. ;) Next part will have Kelly and Brenda. :) So read, review, and let me know what you think. _

**Part One**

"That dress is fantastic!" Annie Wilson gushed excitedly as her best friend, Silver, stepped out of the dressing room wearing a floor-length gown the same shade as her name with straps that criss-crossed across her back adding dimension to the design. It was unique and completely Silver. "You have to get it."

"I don't know." Silver furrowed her brow, studying the price tag. "It's 300. That's a little more than I saved."

"How much do you have saved?" Annie inquired as she held a saucy black number against herself, studying herself in the mirror, trying to decide if she wanted to try it on.

"Uh, thirty."

"Thirty?" Annie's eyes widened dramatically. "Then we are in the wrong store. I think the cheapest dress I saw on the floor was at least 150. Can't you get your mom to pay for it?"

"Annie." Silver shot her a look, shaking her head. "Be serious. I'm not about to ask Kelly. She's already putting me up. Supporting both Sammy and I on a guidance counselor's salary is not exactly easy."

"What about the dad, doesn't he pay child support?"

"Don't even go there." Silver frowned. "It's more complicated than Ethan and Naomi's relationship."

Annie let out a loud groan, hanging the gown back on the rack. "Why oh why did you have to bring them up?"

"Because if I didn't, I knew you would in less than five minutes." Silver teased. "I'm going to go take this off. You should try that black dress on, though. It's hot."

"I told you, Silver, I'm not going to go to the Homecoming dance. I don't have a date."

"And whose fault is that?" Silver inquired from inside the dressing room. "You told Ty no."

"Not exactly." Annie scowled, studying a different dress that she had been eyeing earlier. This one was green in color and much longer. Her father wouldn't freak out as much. "I just told him I wanted to be friends for awhile first. I didn't realize he would go out and ask the first girl walking down the hall to the dance."

"You mean Nina? Well, don't feel too bad. Nina's been waiting for just about ever to get her hooks in Ty. From what I understand, she made a play for him over the summer but he shot her down."

"Great, that makes me feel a lot better." Annie let out a loud sigh, running her fingers through her wavy cinnamon-brown hair. "I still wish he had asked _me_ to the dance, not her."

"Look, Annie, Ty may be really cute but he's not dumb. He knows you're still all hung up on Ethan. You need to get over that or you're going to destroy anything you and Ty might have together." Silver had exited the dressing room and was dressed in a pair of medium blue Levi's and a uniquely printed green top. "Now, c'mon, I know where we can find a great dress that is more in my price range."

Annie nodded, mutely obeying Silver as she led her out of the chic boutique _Now Wear This_. They had come here because Kelly had promised Silver she'd be able to get her a great discount, but even with that great discount, Annie knew neither she nor Silver would be able to afford a dress there.

"Not find anything you like?" A young woman with obviously-dyed red hair approached them, a wide smile on her face.

"Not today. Thanks, though, Donna."

Annie waited until they had left the shop before she spoke again. "You know that lady?"

"Yeah, of course." Silver replied. "She was best friends with Kelly through high school and college. They drifted a bit over the past few years, but try and keep in touch as much as possible."

"Wow. For a minute there I thought you knew just about everyone. Nat at The Peach Pit, Donna at _Now Wear This_, heck, you probably even know this radio announcer." Annie folded her arms against her chest.

"I do. His name is David and he's Donna's husband." Silver chuckled. "And my half-brother."

"What?! Your brother is on the radio?"

"Yes, and your brother works at the Peach Pit. Now, c'mon, I'm hungry. Let's see if he can hook us up." Silver grinned.

"Yeah, right." Annie rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you want to go to the Pit, but I think the last thing you're wanting is a Megaburger."

"Do you hate me for that?"

"For what? Dating my brother? Of course not. It's just weird sometimes." Annie shrugged it off, trying not to let her jealousy show on her face. It seemed that ever since Silver and Dixon had hooked up, neither of them had any time for her and she really needed someone to talk to lately.

The two friends drove for several minutes, winding around the streets of Beverly Hills until they reached a section of Los Angeles that Annie was not familiar with at all. The streets were far dirtier and more crowded than they were in Beverly Hills and she was beginning to feel a bit apprehensive. After they had passed their third homeless person, she quickly reached over and locked her car door.

"That is so lame, Annie." Silver shot her a pointed glare. "They are people too, you know."

"I know that. People who I don't trust."

"Why is that? Because they're dirty? Because they don't wear Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses? That is really shallow, Annie."

"Silver, these people could be really dangerous." Annie attempted to argue, then, seeing the look on Silver's face shut her mouth. "You're right. I'm sorry. I forget that you lived in a shelter for a little while."

"Whatever. We're here." Silver stated, pulling in front of a small storefront with a sign that read _Off Melrose_.

"Off Melrose?" Annie arched a quizzical eyebrow.

"A thrift store." Silver explained. "I buy most my clothes here."

"From a thrift store?" Annie began to feel dirty just saying the word.

Silver smirked and got out of the car, leaving Annie sitting in the passenger seat pouting while she debated whether or not it was safer inside the store with Silver or outside in the car with the homeless people. Eventually she unbuckled her seatbelt and joined Silver inside, though she was none to pleased at the prospect.

The store was crowded with overstuffed racks of clothes in bright and vivid colors that most people would never even dream of wearing. Silver, on the other hand, had already scooped up several shirts and skirts, holding them up in various combinations.

"What do you think of this?" Silver showed Annie a bright yellow, long and slinky tank top and a black miniskirt. "I have a pair of yellow heels that would match this shirt perfectly."

"Yellow?"

"Why not." Silver shrugged. "I look good in yellow."

"Not me." Annie frowned, looking down at the rack with muted colors on it. She pulled out a black dress that was shockingly similar to the dress she had seen at _Now Wear This_ that she had liked so much. It just had a slightly higher neckline and less detail, but it was still stunning.

"That's cute." Silver glanced over her shoulder, eyeing the dress in Annie's hand. "You should get it. Only 4."

"Four dollars, seriously?" Annie stared at the price tag in disbelief. "That's amazing."

"Yup. And no one would ever know you got it from a thrift store seeing as how none of our classmates ever venture this side of Robertson." Silver let out a hearty chuckle. "Get it. That way if you change your mind at the last minute and decide to come to the dance you have something to wear."

Annie nodded, imagining how nuts she would drive both Ethan and Ty wearing this. "I think I might." She flashed Silver a grin.

"Good. You ready to go then?"

"Did you find something?"

"Yup." Silver held up the yellow tank top, black mini-skirt, a brilliant blue belt and several chunky silver bracelets. "And all for less than 15. I call that a steal."

"Me too."

"Now hurry up. I promised Kelly I'd be home in time for dinner tonight."

_Author's Notes:_

_I should have the second part up soon. I know this is taking away from EPT, but I'm so upset with how things turned out over the past few episodes of 90210 that I had to write something that would reunite my couples faster than EPT. Ooopsie. Am I giving something away? Consider it a little spoiler. ;) _


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two

**Part Two**

Silver absent-mindedly rolled her green peas around on her dinner plate as she attempted to keep a scowl from showing on her face. She couldn't believe her sister had the gall to invite _him_ over for dinner. Silver knew Kelly had been seeing him, but to have their budding relationship shoved in her face in her own, well sort of own, home was appalling.

"So Silver," Ryan Matthews cleared his throat, attempting for the fourth time that evening to strike up a conversation with her. Kelly had gone into the kitchen a few minutes earlier to bring out desert and Ryan had finally gotten tired of the uncomfortable silence that hung between them. "How's school going?"

"Fine." Silver returned, meeting his gaze evening, her eyes icy daggers.

"Are you looking forward to the homecoming dance?"

"Why would I go to a stupid homecoming dance?" The scowl won as Silver retorted to Ryan's question. "Homecoming is for cheerleaders and football players."

"Oh." Ryan frowned, glancing away from Silver's direct stare. "I just assumed since you and Dixon are-"

"You know what the problem is when you assume things?" Silver interrupted him, flipping her long, dark-brown hair over her shoulders.

"What's that?" Ryan's tone finally began to reflect his annoyance with their banter.

"You make an ass out of you and me." She smiled smugly, glad she had finally gotten under his skin.

Ryan rolled his eyes but kept his mouth shut until Sammy came running into the dining room, a happy grin on his face. "Mr. Matt'ews?" He approached the table, his eyes wide.

"Yes, Sammy?" Ryan looked down at the little tyke with a mixture of apprehension and caution.

'Kelly's going to have to look elsewhere if she's trying to find a baby-daddy for that poor guy.' Silver thought to herself, her heart going out to her nephew.

"Mama wants to know if you want chocolate or vanilla ice cream."

"Chocolate, please." Ryan smiled, attempting to relax. "Just a little bit."

Sammy nodded, turning his attention to Silver. "You want vanilla?"

"Of course." Erin grinned. She couldn't help it when she was around her nephew. His charisma and darling personality was so infectious she couldn't help it. Too bad his father was a complete ass. "With sprinkles. But you've gotta put them on, not your Mama. She never puts enough."

Sammy shot her a conspirators' grin before rushing back to the kitchen, yelling to Kelly that Ryan wanted chocolate ice cream.

"Cute kid."

"Very." Silver agreed without really realizing she was talking to her English teacher again. She glanced up to see that Ryan's gaze had followed Sammy back into the kitchen. The strange look in his eyes made Silver very uncomfortable.

"You know, Mr. Matthews, it's not going to work between you and Kelly."

Ryan's attention snapped back to her, irritation apparent on his face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's not going to work. Just because you came to dinner and finally met Sammy does not mean you're in." Silver continued, enjoying the conflicted and confused look on his face.

"What's that supposed to mean, Silver?" He replied evenly.

"You're just a distraction. Kelly could never take a guy like you seriously. Her heart belongs to someone else."

"You mean Sammy's father?" Ryan leaned forward, obviously dying to hear her answer.

Silver let out a sharp laugh, shaking her head. "You are completely dense. Kelly cannot _stand_ Sammy's father. Sure, there's a lot of history. A lot of very, very messy history, but that loser let Kelly down three too many times. She's never going to go back down that road."

"Then who are you talking about?" Ryan pressed.

Silver smiled a secretive smile, shaking her head slowly. "You think I'm going to tell you something that might actually help you get somewhere with my sister? Think again, you jerk."

"Where does all this hostility come from, Silver?"

"Don't think I don't know what happened between you and Naomi." Silver rolled her eyes.

Ryan paled. "What do you know?" He whispered.

"Enough to know that you are not good enough for my sister and if you don't break it off, I'm going to tell her all about your little fling with Naomi."

"I had no idea she was only fourteen!"

"You had no idea?" Silver snorted. "Every pedophiles excuse. It's disgusting, Mr. Matthews. Disgusting."

"How was I supposed to know?" Ryan exclaimed, running his fingers through his hair in exasperation. "It was summer. The beach. She wasn't even a student at West Beverly yet. She told me she was eighteen."

"Oh yes, because she so looks like she's eighteen." Silver shot back.

"She does and you know it."

"Whatever." Silver scowled. "I don't care what your lame excuses are. If you don't tell Kelly it's over, I'll make sure it is. _And_ I'll tell Mr. Wilson. Let's see how much longer you're working at West Beverly after that."

"You have no proof."

"You really think I'd make an accusation like that without proof?" Silver once again rolled her eyes. Oh how he underestimated her. "Naomi and I were best friends, remember?"

"But not that summer."

Silver arched an eyebrow, but kept her mouth clamped firmly shut as Sammy and Kelly came back into the dining room. "Here you go, Ryan." Kelly put a chocolate sundae in front of the English teacher as Sammy brought Silver her vanilla ice cream with so many sprinkles she'd no doubt get sick afterwards.

"Thank you sweetie." Silver gave Sammy a quick kiss on the cheek. "You always know just how I like it."

"So, what were you two talking about while Sammy and I were in the kitchen?" Kelly inquired, pulling up her chair at the dinner table.

"History." Ryan shot Silver a dangerous look. "Ancient history."

"Yes. History." Silver smiled slyly back. "And how history has a funny way of repeating itself."


	3. Chapter 3

Part Three:

_Author's Notes:_

_Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome! Welcome to part three of my new little fic that I have been a tremendous time writing. I apologize in advance if some of the new characters seem a little off character. I don't watch the spinoff any longer and even when I did, I honestly didn't pay all that much attention to any of the storylines that didn't directly involve Kelly & Brenda. If any of you want to share your insight/opinions on these characters, feel free to PM me. I'll take all suggestions to heart because, well, I really don't know. LOL Anyway, the story isn't going to focus too much on the new characters (otherwise I'd have posted this in the spinoff section) but I do want to get them write. Now enough with my babbling. Read! And review! I love reviews!_

**Part Three:**

The corridors of West Beverly Hills High School were eerily quiet, only the sharp echo of Kelly Taylor's high heels clacking against the linoleum making any noise as the young, blonde guidance counselor made her way towards her office at the end of the hall. It was still twenty till seven and no students would begin showing up for another hour. Kelly liked to use this time to organize her desk and prepare for a new and always event-filled day at West Beverly, though lately she found she was quite frequently distracted.

"Good morning, Ms. Taylor."

Kelly turned, not surprised that she was greeted exactly four doors away from her office. "Why, Mr. Matthews, good morning. Fancy meeting you here." She grinned at the handsome, English teacher, hoping she didn't seem too pleased to see him. She wanted to play things low-key with Ryan, especially since he and Silver did not seem to be getting along.

However, whenever Kelly was around him her heart skipped a beat and fluttered wildly in her chest. She hadn't felt this way since she had begun to admit her feelings for Brandon Walsh so many years ago.

"Coffee and a bagel?" He held up a Starbucks beverage cup and a brown bag with the siren logo prominently displayed. "Tall, skinny sugar-free vanilla latte, just the way you like it."

"You know me so well." Kelly greedily accepted the offerings, planting a quick kiss on Ryan's lips then shooting a guilty glance around to make sure no one had seen their stolen moment.

"Don't worry. No one is here but us early birds." Ryan reassured her. "Come, I'll walk you to your office then leave you alone. I know you have a lot of work to do."

"Thank you, Ryan." Kelly smiled with pleasure, shooting him a glance that she hoped showed her appreciation. "You're very considerate."

"Well, that's me for you." Ryan grinned. "I'm a thoughtful kind of guy."

"I noticed." Kelly felt her cheeks flush with color as he held open the door to her office for her. She set her coffee and bagel on her desk, then turned and gave him a warm embrace, inhaling the scent of his cologne. "You smell good." She murmured, enjoying the feel of his arms around her. It had been too long.

"So do you." Ryan kissed her on the top of her head. "Now, I'm going to head back to my classroom and leave you to do your work." He glanced meaningfully down at the large stacks of papers sitting on her desk. Her inbox was beginning to resemble an excavation site. "Unfortunately, I need to excuse myself. I actually have quite a few papers to grade myself."

"Ew. Grading papers." Kelly scrunched up her nose. "I think that has got to be the worst part of being a teacher."

"They're creative writing assignments." Ryan let out a mock groan. "Some of them are pretty good but most of them, well, they're high school kids. I'm sure you have a pretty good idea what they're like."

"Oh, I remember." Kelly grinned. "English was never my favorite subject. I was just happy I had smart friends in high school."

Ryan arched an eyebrow. "But you wrote your own papers, didn't you?"

"Of course." Kelly exclaimed back. "I was never a cheater. One of my ex-boyfriends, though… He's practically a legend around here. Junior year he stole all the answer keys for his history class. The next year, well, he took it a step further. He stole the key to the entire school to change the grade bank."

"Steve Sanders?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Kelly was surprised Ryan had actually heard of him.

"You said yourself. He's a legend around here." Ryan chuckled. "Honestly, though, when Yvonne was interviewing me she mentioned him. She actually said I reminded her of him."

"You? Remind her of Steve?"

"That's what she said." Ryan grinned. "So now I find out why you're really seeing me. Because I remind you of your old boyfriend."

"Ha, ha. Very funny." Kelly rolled her eyes. "For the record, you don't remind me of Steve in the least. And if you did, I wouldn't be dating you. Steve and I dated back in high school. Sophomore year. Not exactly a time of my life I look back on with fond memories."

"But I thought you loved your high school years." Ryan pressed, a strange light in his eyes that Kelly couldn't quite read. "You and Brenda, hanging out. Sammy's dad…"

"Alright, Mr. Matthews…" Kelly stepped away from Ryan, her brow furrowing. "Let's stop this conversation right here. I've already told you, I don't really want to discuss Sammy's dad any more than we already have. It's enough for you to know that what he and I had was history. When I visualize my future, he is not in it."

"Except he's Sammy's dad. Surely that counts for something. He'll always be a part of your life."

Kelly shook her head, her irritation with the English teacher growing. "If he makes the effort, he will be a part of _Sammy's_ life. Not mine. I've closed that chapter of my life, once and for all."

"Good to hear." Ryan kissed Kelly's forehead, going for more, but Kelly turned her head. "Kelly," He pulled her closer, "I'm not playing around here. I'm serious. I'm tired of the games. If you're not playing for keeps, let me know now."

Kelly glanced at the ground, studying the muted green pattern of the carpet. She cared for Ryan, she really did. But if he wanted some sort of commitment, that was not something she could give.

"Ryan," Kelly began slowly, placing her hand on his chest, putting a little distance between them but still retaining the intimacy. "You're the first guy I've dated in a long time. Since Sammy's dad, actually. I'm not ready to make any serious commitments. But I am having fun and I care for you a lot. Isn't that enough?"

Ryan looked thoughtful for a split second, this pulled her in for a warm embrace, pressing his lips against hers in a not-so-gentle kiss. "I guess that's the most I can hope for right now." He murmured in her ear after they separated. "Just don't let that history interfere with our future, because Kelly, when I visualize _my_ future, I know who I see."

Kelly's cheeks flushed and she found that she could not meet Ryan's gaze as she mumbled, "Ryan, we've only been dating a few weeks. Let's not rush things, okay?"

"I'm not rushing, Kelly. I just know what I want and when I see what I want, I've got to go for it."

Kelly shook her head, trying to clear the conflicting emotions that were racing through her. Ryan's line sounded an awful lot like one she had delivered to Brandon when she first began pursing him back in high school. She had been sixteen. Ryan had been six or seven.

"You have work to do, Ryan." Kelly whispered. "So do I. We can have this conversation at a later point, alright?"

"When later?"

Kelly smiled ruefully. "How about six months?"

Ryan grinned back, shrugging his shoulders. "Does that guarantee I have at least six months with you to convince you that I'm the man of your dreams?"

"Ryan!" Kelly rolled her eyes, flattered by his obvious infatuation with her but still a little disturbed by how recklessly he was pursuing her. Had this man never been in a serious relationship before? "Get to work."

"Yes, Ms. Taylor." He nodded, turning and swaggering out the door leaving Kelly alone with her coffee, bagel and far too much work to do.

Letting out a long sigh, Kelly plopped herself in her high-backed black office chair, leaning back and staring up at the sky. Could Ryan be the man of her dreams? She had to admit, over the past five years, her vision of Mr. Right had changed drastically. Before, he had always been the sort of man who would keep her as the focal point of his life, his world would nearly revolve around her. She knew that was a selfish way of looking at things, but it was something she had never had in any relationship she had been in and she once upon a time wanted to know what it felt like.

Then Sammy happened. She went through a complete paradigm shift, to say the least. No long was she a single, independent woman who only had to look out for herself. Now she was a mom. A single mom who really couldn't count on Sammy's father except to send a sporadic child support check every six months or so. Her priorities were completely different. She needed to find a man who could be a father to Sammy. Was Ryan capable of that? He was still a teenager when Sammy was born…

"Great. Just great." Kelly groaned as she sat up straight and reached for her desk phone to dial her voicemail and get rid of the annoying red light that always alerted her when she had missed a call. She had to get Ryan and this whole mess off her mind. Maybe actually doing a little work might prove to be the right distraction.

Kelly quickly pressed in her pass code then pulled out a pen and a pad of paper to write down her messages. There were two messages from parents who were upset about the homework load their children were getting and one drunk dialer before she got to her last call.

"Hey Kel. It's me. Who would have thought that when I called good ol' West Beverly to find out some more information on the Homecoming dance I get transferred to your voicemail. Anyway, I'm going to be in town and I thought I'd respond to this lovely little e-vite I got and let you know I'm going to be coming. I had a few questions, though, so give me a call. You know the number."

Kelly felt all the blood drain from her face as she replaced the phone in the receiver. So much for work being a distraction.

_Author's Notes:_

_So who could the call possibly be from? I want to see some analyzing going on. Just playing. ;) I'll probably post the next part before five people even have time to review this one. I told myself I had to get two parts up this week in both this story and in Error Proof Test. I have one down for each one thus far and it's already Wednesday. Argh! _

_Anyway, please review and let me know what you think. I'm dying to know. :) Oh, and tell me who YOU want Kelly to be with. Ryan? Brandon? Dylan? Steve? (ha, ha)_


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note:_

_Just warning you guys, I'm rewriting some history in this chapter… Hope you don't mind too much. ;)_

**Part Four:**

"I'm mad at you." Kelly announced the second she walked in the door to her apartment, dropping her keys in the dish on the side table in the entryway. She walked into the living room, giving the lovely brunette a pointed stare which quickly melted into a smile. "Why didn't you tell me Brandon was actually going to come?"

Brenda rose to her feet, handing back the red crayon she had been using to Sammy who was seated at the coffee table drawing. "It was supposed to be a surprise." Brenda shrugged her shoulders. "How'd you find out?"

"He called me." Kelly explained. "At work. Said he was going to be in town and was planning on coming to homecoming."

"Wow." Brenda shook her head, a smile tweaking up the corners of her mouth. "Brandon was never good at keeping a secret. Especially from you. Though why he called the school, I have no clue. I told him I'd get him any information he needed. What did he need, by the way?"

"I don't know. I didn't call him back." Kelly admitted. "Right after I got the message my day got really crazy and I didn't have a chance to do anything for homecoming. I swear, I don't know how I got roped into this in the first place."

"Because you and Harry are the only faculty or staff who is an actual graduate of West Beverly." Brenda pointed out.

"You are too."

"Yes, but I was only helping out with the play for a couple of weeks. I don't count." Brenda countered with a chuckle. "It was up to you or Harry to contact all the alums, and did you really want the poor new principal having to do that?"

"Yes!" Kelly glowered. "It would have served Harry right. Let him deal with all the catty former West Beverly students. I now understand why Mrs. Teasley refused to participate in it this year."

"Well, Mrs. T is also getting up there in years." Brenda continued. "I'm actually surprised she is still the vice principal. She's close to retirement age, isn't she?"

"Past it, actually." Kelly agreed. "She was going to retire last year, but decided she'd just get bored sitting on a beach in Florida and said she'd wanted to stay at least one more year. I think it had more to do with the fact that we had no principal until after the school year started, though. Mrs. Teasley would never abandon West Beverly if she wasn't sure it was in good hands."

"It was so nice seeing her again." Brenda commented as she began to stretch. "It's been nice seeing everyone. I've missed California."

"So why don't you stay?" Kelly pressed, brushing her blonde hair away from her face. "Harry still hasn't found someone to fill the drama teacher position. I'm sure he'd love to bring you on board."

"Oh, I see it now. A cottage in England. A flat in New York. And a condo in LA? No thank you, Kelly. My life is complicated enough as it is."

"But if you moved back to LA, you could try and get some television or movie jobs." Kelly wasn't quite sure why she was trying to pressure Brenda into staying. Up until the past few weeks, Kelly could have counted her and Brenda's conversations since she moved to London on just one hand. But after Brenda had come back and they were basically forced to talk, Kelly found she had missed her former best friend immensely.

"TV and movies is not theater, Kel." Brenda frowned. "I just can't picture myself doing something like that. At least not right now."

"But you'd be so great." Kelly urged. "Will you at least consider it?"

Brenda hesitated for a long moment, her gaze locked with Kelly's. At long last, she gave a barely discernable nod, shrugging her shoulders why she did so. "Alright, I'll consider it, Kelly. But only for you. As much as I've missed this place, London is home."

"Thank you." Kelly smiled. "Now, I'm famished. What do you saw we round up Silver and Sammy and head on down to the Pit for dinner?"

"Silver's already there." Brenda informed her. "She stopped by here for about ten minutes after school and then went straight there. Your sister sure is stuck on Harry's kid."

"Yeah, well, from what Harry tells me, Dixon is really sweet on Silver too." Kelly grinned. "I think it's kinda cute myself. Silver told me they're being smart about things – not rushing them. Which I think is good. Fifteen is far too young to be involved in a very serious relationship."

"Tell me about it." Brenda agreed with a long sigh, a strange look in her eyes. "High school should be about having fun. Sometimes I look back on my high school years and really regret some of the decisions I made."

"Such as?"

"Did I ever tell you that when I first moved here I wanted to join the cheerleading squad but you and Donna mocked them so badly I was too embarrassed to even try out?"

"Are you serious?" Kelly stared at Brenda, shame coursing through her. "That's so awful. You should have if you wanted to. Donna and I only hated the cheerleaders because we both were cut freshman year."

"What? You tried out and were cut?"

Kelly nodded. "We both wanted to be on the team so badly but, well, you've seen us dance. Neither of us are especially talented and when you're up against girls who have been taking dance since they were three, you don't stand much of a chance. You would have been amazing, though. You were always the best dancer out of us."

"Too late now."

"Well, West Beverly needs a cheerleading coach…" Kelly quipped.

"You're too funny, Kelly." Brenda shot her a look, then quickly changed the subject. "So what about you, do you have any regrets from high school?"

Kelly rolled her eyes. "Are you seriously asking me that, Brenda?" Kelly let out a long sigh. "You know I regret nearly every minute of every day both my freshman and sophomore years. Junior year was okay but then senior year – well, I have a lot of regrets that year."

"Yeah, me too." Brenda met Kelly's gaze. "You know, we've never really talked about Dylan."

"I know." Kelly nodded, guilt washing through her. She had been hoping this conversation would never come up. She had gone through such a period of self-loathing during the entire time she was with Dylan. She had never been happy because she knew their relationship had been built on a false foundation.

"Do you want to?"

"No, not really." Kelly admitted truthfully, "But it was bound to come up. Eventually. Might as well get this out of the way, right?"

"That's one way of looking at it." Brenda let out a mirthless laugh. "Actually, I was kinda hoping I could escape back to London without really having to give it much thought. I don't know if I want to go back down this road."

"I know I don't." Kelly agreed. "It was such a mess. I screwed up so badly, and I'm sorry. I betrayed my best friend for a chance to flirt with her boyfriend. Honestly, I never thought anything would have ever come of it. When I had made a pass at him when you two first got together, he had rebuffed me so strongly I never dreamed-"

"Me either." Brenda cut her off. "Looking back on it now, I realize Dylan much have been really unhappy in our relationship. Not between the two of us, but the baggage I brought with me."

"Baggage? What baggage?" Kelly adamantly shook her head. "Out of all of the gang, I think you and Brandon had the least amount of baggage."

"The Jim Walsh kind of baggage." Brenda went on to explain. "My dad never liked Dylan, could never accept him as 'good enough' for his little girl. By going behind my parents' back to be with Dylan, I only made things worse. No teenage guy wants to be yelled at every time he shows up on his girlfriend's doorstep, right?"

"They did make a pretty bad scene at my mom's wedding." Kelly furrowed her brow.

"I don't know if I've ever been so humiliated in my life as I was that night. Everything leading up to Paris was a complete disaster. So much drama. It was driving me nuts. I'm sure it drove Dylan even more so."

"But that still doesn't excuse what he did. What _we_ did." Kelly remarked, studying Brenda's face.

"No, it doesn't." Brenda retorted, her eyes blazing with green fire. "You were my best friend, Kelly. You were so much more experienced with men. You should have known better."

"I know." Kelly found herself unable to meet Brenda's accusing eyes. "And I'm sorry, Brenda. I've never forgiven myself for what I did to you that summer. Out of all the bad decisions I made in high school, that one was the worst."

"Do you want to know what the worst part of it was?" Brenda stared at Kelly, her eyes brimming with tears. "Not that I lost my boyfriend. But I lost my best friend. My _best_ friend. I'd never had a best friend like you, Kelly and though I've made some friends since, I've never been able to get close to anyone like that again."

"I'm sorry."

"I hated you for so long, Kelly." The tears began to slip down Brenda's face now and Kelly was surprised to find her own cheeks were wet with tears. "I blamed you for so much. I blamed you for everything. Any time something didn't go right in my life, I somehow traced it back to that summer."

"I'm so sorry."

"But I learned something, Kelly." Brenda continued as if she hadn't heard Kelly's whispered apology. "As long as I didn't take responsibility for my own actions and decisions, I'd never be able to move on with my life. I'd forever be that heartbroken seventeen-year-old kid who had been betrayed by two of the people she loved most in the entire world."

"Oh Brenda." Kelly's face crumpled, her heart breaking. She had always known she had forever scarred Brenda, but to see the raw pain and emotion written on the her face… "I was so horrible. I'm so sorry."

"I know you are." Brenda looked up at Kelly, the fire in her eyes cooling by the tears that were falling. "And I'm sorry that I allowed you and Dylan so much control over my life. But this all happened over fifteen years ago. It's time for both of us to move on. Right?"

Kelly nodded. "Dylan and I-we've never worked. After David and Donna's wedding, well, we decided to give it one last shot. I think it lasted three weeks before he left again."

"Three weeks?" Brenda's lips twisted up in a smile.

"I know. We both were pretending so hard that it was what we wanted, but it wasn't. Dylan's a free spirit. For him to stay in once place… Well, you know Dylan. It just doesn't work."

"Yes, I know Dylan." Brenda furrowed her brow in confusion. "But I thought, well, I thought…" She glanced meaningfully over at Sammy who was still happily coloring, completely oblivious to Kelly and Brenda's conversation.

"Sammy?" Kelly's eyes widened incredulously, then lowered her voice when her son glanced up at the sound of his name. "You actually thought Dylan was Sammy's _father_?"

"Well, yeah." Brenda looked even more lost now. "Both Brandon and I assumed… I mean, when he was born Dylan was around and acting so protective…"

Kelly shook her head, her shoulders shaking with laughter. Suddenly things were starting to make a bit more sense. Brandon suddenly distancing himself from her shortly after Sammy was born, the strained telephone conversations with Donna whenever she brought Dylan up. They probably all thought Dylan was some sort of deadbeat dad who completely abandoned her after Sammy was born.

"Dylan is _not_ the father." Kelly let out a long sigh. "Sometimes I think it might be less complicated if he were, but he's not."

"But Ryan said you told him it was someone you dated in high school."

"I dated a lot of guys in high school, Brenda." Kelly rolled her eyes. "I was vague with Ryan because I really didn't want to delve into my personal history with him just yet. I wanted to find out how serious it was going to be."

"So who is the father?" Brenda inquired. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, I don't mind. He and I, well, we weren't really in a relationship at all. We bumped into each other one night and started talking. There was far too much alcohol involved and I was incredibly lonely. One thing led to another and I found myself in a position that I hadn't imagined being in ever again."

"One night stand?"

Kelly nodded. "Do you remember Kyle?"

"Kyle? Kyle Conner? I thought he was gay! Everybody did."

"Nope. Not gay." Kelly shook her head. "Not by a long shot. He was confused – really confused – back in high school, but never gay. Back then he explained it to me that he just wasn't sure what he was in to but he knew he wasn't ready for a sexual relationship. That was part of the reason why he and his girlfriend from Beverly Hills High had split up. She wanted it but he didn't."

"Wow. The roles reversed. That's a first."

"Uncommon, but not the first." Kelly deferred.

"So Kyle's the father?"

"Yeah. Kyle's the father. After all the hubbub of me having a baby seemed to die down we decided we might give it a try at a relationship, but it didn't work out and we went our separate ways. As much as he wasn't ready for a sexual relationship in high school, he wasn't ready to become a father four years ago."

"Do you still talk to him?"

"Every now and again when he calls." Kelly admitted. "I don't call him, though. Amazingly, Sammy has only asked me about him once or twice and only in the past six months or so. I've not wanted to really introduce him into Sammy's life until he proves he'll be around. Right now, though, he's out gallivanting about doing 'charity work' of some sort. Like I said, not ready to be a father."

"I can see that." Brenda shook her head in amazement. "That's got to be tough on both you and Sammy."

"A little bit, but at least I know exactly where Sammy and I stand with him. There haven't ever been any mixed messages, which is nice for once in my life."

"I hear that."

"Mommy," Sammy had approached the two young women, his eyes widened dramatically.

"Yes, sweetie?" Kelly lowered herself to Sammy's level. "What can I do for you kiddo?"

"I'm hungry."

"And I'm starving!" Kelly agreed enthusiastically. "What do you say we go see if we can find your auntie at the Peach Pit?"

"Really, the Peach Pit?" A huge, joyous grin lit up Sammy's face. "Will Gran'pa Nat be there?"

"I'm sure he will." Brenda smiled down at the young boy. "And probably saving us a booth, if I'm not mistaken."

"Come on, let's go." Kelly grabbed Sammy's hand, then looped her arm through Brenda's as they headed out the door to enjoy their dinner together.

Just as the door shut behind them, the phone began to ring, Kelly's machine picking up after the fifth ring. "Hi, you've reached Kelly" Kelly's voice announced.

"Silver." Silver chimed in.

"And Sammy!" His voice was by far the most enthusiastic.

Kelly's voice came back on the line. "We're not here right now, but leave a message and we'll call you back." A beat. "Maybe."

"Wow. Nice message, Kel." A familiar voice came through the outdated machine's speaker. "I'm starting to think you're avoiding my calls, though. Give me a call back. We need to talk."

_Author's Notes:_

_Ta-da! Dylan is no longer Sammy's father. Suddenly it's not quite so messy if I have a BD and BK reunion, right? So let me know what you think. Oh, and BTW, officially I do believe Kyle was gay but back in the day they couldn't quite touch that storyline without getting a lot of heat for it. But, he was the only guy that Kelly could technically have history with back in high school that fit my requirements of: 1) Not being Dylan. 2) Not being Brandon because he _cannot_ be a deadbeat dad 3) Not being David because that's just ewwie! 4) not being Steve because he's happy with Janet, 5) was mentioned in the actual show and 6) not a total jerk. So anyway… There you go. And I got it up before five people could review. ;) _


	5. Chapter 5

Part 05

_Author's Notes:_

_Sorry it took me so long to get this new part up. I was super inspired with Error Proof Test so I was trying to knock out a few chapters with that. But now I must pay attention to my little sophomore project here. ;) Anyway… Here's the new part. Hope you enjoy it!_

**Part 05**

Brenda shook her head as she stepped inside the newly renovated Peach Pit, trying to keep the frown from her face. As much as she tried to pretend this new Pit was the place she and the gang used to hang out at back in the day, she just couldn't. It felt so strange and foreign, and it definitely felt weird ordering her specialty coffee from the man who had brought her a Megaburger nearly every week during high school.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this." Kelly commented, her words echoing Brenda's thoughts. "I know there are a lot more customers now, but when Nat remodeled this place, it lost its spirit. It's just not the same place anymore."

"No kidding." Brenda agreed. "There's not even a jukebox anymore."

"Steve bought the old box." Kelly informed her. "When he found out Nat was going to be getting rid of it, he told Nat that he'd pay him a hundred grand for it."

"You're kidding me, right?" Brenda felt her jaw drop. "A hundred thousand dollars for that old jukebox? I'm surprised it was still running."

"Well, it wasn't. And Nat refused to sell it to him for that much. I think Steve ended up paying around 500 in the end. Janet would have killed him if he had blown Maddie and Brandon's college fund for simple sentimental reasons."

Brenda felt a smile creep up on her lips, shaking her head. "You know, I still can't get used to that."

"What, Steve being a father?" Kelly's grinned mirrored Brenda's.

"Yeah, that and the fact that he named his son Brandon. I had always figured Steve would name his firstborn after himself – boy or girl."

"I know." Kelly chuckled. "Though I must say, fatherhood really has changed Steve quite a bit. We should go over and visit Steve and Janet soon. You'd get a kick watching Steve wrestle with little Brandon. When the little guy was born, Steve told me he was going to make sure he was everything for him that Rush wasn't. As far as I can tell, he's kept his word."

"That would be nice." Brenda quickly agreed, imagining Steve down on the floor playing with his son. Of course, the Brandon she imagined was her own brother Brandon when he had been six-years-old and wrestling with Jim, but it was still an adorable image.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my three favorite customers." Nat greeted Kelly, Brenda and Sammy as they approached the counter. "Come for your weekly Megaburger fix?"

"Of course." Kelly confirmed. "What would a Tuesday night be without a Megaburger?"

"Leftovers." Sammy grumbled, folding his arms against his chest in mock protest.

"I'm so jealous." Brenda smiled as she ruffled Sammy's hair. "I wish I could come by here once a week. I've eaten burgers in London, Paris, even Rome, but none of them even come close to your Megaburger, Nat."

"Why thank you, darling." Nat flushed with the praise. Then, in an obvious attempt to change the topic, Nat turned his attention to Kelly, giving her a mock-glare. "You know, your sister is over there in the corner booth hogging my best waiter. She might as well work here for the amount of time she's been spending here lately."

"She's not even sixteen yet, Nat." Kelly chided. "Though you are right, she has been spending a lot of time here."

"Its cuz she likes Dixon." Sammy chimed in, a huge grin on his face.

"You don't say?" Nat enthused, a teasing glint in his eye. "I would have never known if you hadn't told me." He grinned, glancing over to where Silver and Dixon were sitting, their heads nearly meeting as the leaned forward in their seats, whispering and giggling.

"Come on, let's go break up the party. My stomach is growling!" Kelly smiled, ushering Brenda and Sammy in the direction of Silver's booth.

"Hey guys!" Silver greeted when she noticed the trio heading their direction. Brenda couldn't help but notice Dixon looked slightly guilty, as if he had his hand caught in the cookie jar, but Silver was completely unaffected by being seen by the adults.

"Hello Silver. Dixon." Kelly smiled as she nodded at Dixon. "How've you been?"

"Uh, good." Dixon replied, clearly nervous. "I've, uh, gotta get back to work. I'll talk to you later, Silver."

"Bye." Silver gave him a small wave, then turned an arched eyebrow towards her sister. "Why'd you have to go scare him off?"

"What? Me? I only asked him how he was doing." Kelly rolled her eyes. "He was the nervous one."

"Probably because he was still on the clock." Brenda quipped. "Never affected Brandon too much, though."

"Brandon?" Silver echoed, shooting Kelly a look that Brenda couldn't help but notice. "You mean, the Brandon?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by that, Silver." Brenda let a teasing tone sound in her voice, though she was dying to hear Silver's response.

"She means she's heard Dixon talking about Nat talking about when Brandon worked here." Kelly jumped in before Silver could answer, though her cheeks were tinged pink and Brenda could tell even Kelly knew how lame that sounded.

"Riiight." Brenda smiled knowingly. "Kelly, is there something you're not telling me?"

"Probably shouldn't go there, Bren." Silver stated casually as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "Kelly nearly bites my head off whenever I tease her about Brandon Walsh."

"Silver, shut up." Kelly forced a grin, though her teeth were gritted.

"Why?" Silver teased, her eyes dancing mischievously. "Everyone knows you still have the hots for Brandon. What's the harm if Brenda knows too? It's not like she's going to tell your boyfriend, Ryan." She made a face as she said her teacher's name.

Brenda arched an eyebrow in Kelly's direction, pleased to see her friend squirming with embarrassment. "So, you still have the hots for Brandon, eh?"

"David and Steve are _always_ giving her a hard time about it." Silver cut in, earning herself yet another glare from her sister. "I'm surprised you didn't know. I thought you two went way back."

"We do." Brenda smiled at Kelly, attempting to ease her friend's discomfort, but it was obvious she was failing. "Kelly, don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I'm not going to tell Brandon anything. Though honestly, I think you should."

"That is not going to happen, Bren." Kelly had regained some of her composure. "The last time we talked about that sort of thing he made it very clear that we were better off as friends. And it's not like I _like_ him like him. Your brother is gorgeous. I'd be blind if I wasn't attracted. Or have the hots for, as Silver so bluntly stated."

"Your brother?" Silver's eyes widened, her face paling slightly. "Oh my gosh! I didn't realize… I'm so sorry Kelly…"

"It's alright." Kelly waved off the offense. "It was bound to come up sooner or later. Like you said, David and Steve are always teasing me about my silly crush on your brother."

"Maybe it's not so silly." Brenda suggested. "How long has it been since you and Brandon have actually talked about your feelings, anyway? My guess would be at least six or seven years."

"Closer to eight." Kelly let out a long sigh, shaking her head. "A few months after the anti-wedding."

Silver let out a long groan. "Do we really have to discuss that again?"

"No." Kelly stated at the same time as Brenda was saying yes. The two burst out in giggles, earning them a glare from both Silver and Sammy.

"Why don't I go take you to the arcade?" Silver suggested, grabbing onto Sammy's hand and leading him away from the table.

"But I'm hungry." Sammy complained.

"Don't worry, sweetie, we'll come and get you when the food gets here." Kelly reassured her son, a smile on her lips that caused her entire face to light up.

"See, you'll be fine." Silver began to pull the blonde away, though he was clearly reluctant to go. "Come on, Sammy. Do you really want to hear a couple of old people reminisce about how great things were back in the day? I certainly don't. And besides, I believe you owe me a rematch in Street Fighter."

Sammy's eyes lit up at the mention of the video game and suddenly Silver was rushing to keep up with him. Brenda shook her head, chuckling. "You have a gorgeous family, Kell. Sometimes I'm so jealous. I always thought I was going to be a young mom, but here I am, in my early thirties, and still no promising prospects."

"Well, I wouldn't recommend becoming a mom the way I did." Kelly cautioned her. "Kyle's been pretty good, but I was lucky. There are some pretty bad losers out there."

"Tell me about it." Brenda sighed, glancing down at her hands and studying the tiny hairs growing there. "Kelly, tell me why it is that neither you or I can ever make it work with a man? Every relationship I've been in has ended in disaster if it has even gotten to that point. And from what you've said, it's been the same story for you."

"Ryan…"

"Give me a break, Kelly. You're not fooling anybody. Except for maybe yourself. I can see you care for Ryan, but you keep holding him at a distance. He's not going to stick around for forever if you won't let him in."

"I know." Kelly consented. "But I don't know if I _want_ to let him in. He's a sweet guy, but he's so young. Seriously, he's nine years younger than me. Nine years. That's a long time."

"Not so long. He seems willing to give it a shot. Why aren't you?"

"Honestly," Kelly furrowed her brow as if she were thinking, but Brenda could tell Kelly already knew the answer to her question. "I don't know."

"I think you do." Brenda countered.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kelly returned evenly.

"Kelly, it's never going to work between you and some other guy because you're still in love with Brandon."

Kelly remained quiet, refusing to meet Brenda's gaze. After several long seconds had ticked by, she quietly murmured, "So what? Is that such a crime? Brandon was the only man I ever imagined spending the rest of my life with. When we called off the wedding, I had foolishly believed we were only postponing it. I had no idea Brandon didn't love me."

"Kelly, he does love you. I know he does."

"Yes, like a sister." Kelly whispered bitterly, tears stinging the back of her eyes. "We've talked about this before."

"Don't fall for that, Kelly. It wasn't true in high school. Wasn't true when you two almost got married and it certainly isn't true right now."

Kelly shook her head. "You're wrong, Brenda. I know you know Brandon better than anyone, but there is no way he still has feelings for more that are stronger than friendship. Which means I'm just a pathetic old maid pining away from a man she can never have."

"Stop it, Kelly." Brenda found herself growing angry with her friend. "Just knock it off. _You_ are not the pathetic one. You're right, I _do_ know Brandon better than anyone. Which is how I know that, well, uh…" She stopped herself, biting down on her tongue to keep from spilling Brandon's secret.

"What do you mean? How you know what?" Kelly challenged her.

"Look, it's not really my place to talk about this." Brenda attempted to step away from the conversation. "I was just saying that if you're still in love with Brandon, you should tell Brandon you still love him. You might be pleasantly surprised."

Kelly sniffed, frowning as she shook her head. "I've gone down that road too many times, Brenda. I know I will love Brandon until the day I die, but I'm not going to let myself be hurt again. I just can't. I can't be like this in front of Sammy. Sammy needs a strong father-figure in his life. Yeah, there are days when I fantasize that Brandon could be that man, but then we talk and it makes it clear to me that he sees me as nothing except one of his best friends and I get over it. Today has just been a hard day, that's all."

"Don't give up on love, Kelly." Brenda whispered. "Never give up on love."

"Those are wise words."

The voice jerked both Brenda and Kelly to immediate attention. Brenda felt her mouth drop as she stared up at the man she had not seen in nearly ten years.

"Dylan!" Kelly exclaimed, leaping out of her seat and giving him a warm, friendly embrace. "I didn't know you were going to be in town. When'd you get in?"

"Just a little bit ago." Dylan smiled affectionately at Kelly, then glanced down at Brenda, his expression faltering just a little. "Hey Bren."

"Hey." Brenda felt her heart catch in her throat as she stared at him.

"Take a seat, Dylan." Kelly gestured to the spot she had been sitting in earlier as she slid in the booth next to Brenda, earning Kelly Brenda's eternal thanks. "Have you eaten anything?"

"Nope. I was hoping to catch a burger here before I check in at the hotel."

"You staying at the BelAge?" Kelly inquired and Brenda was amazed at how calmly Kelly was able to talk to him. There was no weird awkwardness, no nervous tension. Just warm and glowing friendship… She couldn't help but feel a bit envious.

"Of course." Dylan replied as he took the seat opposite the girls. "I was going to call you, but I remembered it was Tuesday and figured I'd catch you here. Though I didn't realize you would be here too, Brenda. It's nice to see you."

"Uh, yeah. It's nice to see you too." Brenda felt so flustered, she glanced down at the table, wishing a hole would appear in the floor to swallow her up.

"Look, I think I see Nat heading over with the food. I'm going to go get Silver and Sammy. There should be room if we bring around a chair." Kelly rose to her feet and hurried away leaving Brenda alone with Dylan for the first time in nearly a decade.

"So…" Dylan began slowly, his lips tweaking up in a familiar smile that used to melt Brenda. "How've you been, Brenda? You look good."

"I've _been_ good." Brenda confirmed, trying to shore up her resistance to this man. "Really good, in fact."

"How long you planning on being in town?"

"I'm not sure, really." Brenda answered him honestly. "Not too long, I don't think. You?"

"I think I'm here to stay." Dylan replied. "I've traveled 'round the world, but there's honestly no place like home, and Beverly Hills is my home."

Brenda nodded trying to ignore the strange feelings that were fluttering inside her, threatening to spill over into their conversation. "I've missed this place."

"You should consider moving back."

Brenda shook her head. "No. I don't think so. There's nothing for me here."

"Your friends are here. Brandon tells me he's planning on moving back. And, well, I'm here." He offered the last part, his tone containing a desperate bit of hope. "You can do with that whatever you want."

"Dylan," Brenda caution, frowning. "We've gone down this road before. It never works between us."

"Just like it doesn't work between Kelly and Brandon? Yet I overheard you encouraging her to give it another shot."

"It's different with them. They're in love. They just won't admit it."

"How is that different from us? Because I admit I'm still in love with you, but you refuse to acknowledge what your heart tells you?"

"Don't do this, Dylan."

"I'm not going to give up on you, Brenda." Dylan whispered, leaning forward and taking her hands within his own. "Whatever it takes, I'm going to win you back. I promise you."

"I'm not a prize that can be won or lost, Dylan." She stated coldly.

"That is not what I meant, Brenda, and you know it." He answered, squeezing her hands tightly. "I love you, Brenda. I want to marry you. Spend the rest of my life by your side. Your captive audience no longer watching from afar."

Brenda felt her stomach begin to do flip flops. "Dylan, I can't…" She jumped to her feet, running out of the Peach Pit, nearly colliding with Nat as she did so, tears streaming down her face as she whispered the words 'I can't' over and over again.

_Author's Notes:_

_Alright, so Dylan showing up at the Pit was _not_ in my original plan, but it fit. So let me know what you guys thought. Also, please give me some feedback as to where you'd like to see this story go, who you'd like me to write about, etc. Right now it's kinda heavy on the Brenda/Kelly/Brandon/Dylan bit, but I want to expand to include more of the original cast. _

_BTW, just throwing a name out there… Valerie… What do you think? _

_Comment away, please. I love feedback and thrive on it! _

_Cheers,_

_Jianna_


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6

_Author's Notes:_

_Hey everyone! Another part. Read and let me know what you think. :) Pretty please with sugar and new chapters on top. cheesy grin_

**Part Six**

Dylan watched Brenda hurry out of the Peach Pit, desperately fighting the urge to run after her. Years of knowing Brenda, though, told him that if he did go after her, it would just make things worse. He needed to give her the time and distance she required, even if it tore him up inside to do so.

He had not expected to see Brenda at the Peach Pit, much less lay out his heart to her the moment he laid eyes on her. Seeing her after all these years had stripped him of all his defenses, though. He found himself completely out of control, the passion and unrequited love that had been pent up inside him for so long finally being released, making a complete and utter fool of himself.

Dylan shook his head in dismay, wishing he could relive the past fifteen minutes. He still probably wouldn't have made his presence known – just listened to Kelly and Brenda's conversation then quietly make his way out of the Peach Pit to ponder what he had overheard. As much as his heart broke for Kelly and the predicament she was in, it was far simpler for Kelly and Brandon than it was for him and Brenda.

He knew, and from the sound of it, Brenda knew as well, where Brandon's heart lay. The biggest obstacle keeping those two apart was the history that they shared – that and the actual physical distance between them. He had a hunch that as soon as they were in the same room as one another, they would not be able to keep their true feelings bottled up inside. He just hoped that for both their sakes they would stop being stubborn and actually admit their feelings and how much they really needed one another.

As frustrated as both Brandon and Kelly must feel, though, Dylan couldn't help but think he and Brenda were in even more of a mess. He had finally admitted to himself how much he needed Brenda in his life, how lost he was when she wasn't an active part of his daily living. Upon learning Brenda was going to be in Beverly Hills for a little while, Dylan had determined he too would return, his objective being to woo Brenda and win back her heart. He had not planned on giving away his intentions within thirty seconds of talking with her.

"Uncle Dylan!"

The young voice startled Dylan out of his reverie. A huge grin broke across his face as he looked down at Kelly's young son racing across the restaurant, Kelly and Silver trailing behind. Even at first glance, Dylan could tell that Sammy had grown quite a bit over the past several months, though he was still the spitting of his mother and absolutely adorable to boot.

"Hey there, kid." Dylan greeted Sammy with a warm hug which was returned with great enthusiasm. "How you doing?"

"GREAT!" Sammy exclaimed, scooting in the booth next to Dylan. "Silver n I played Street Fighter and I totally beat her!"

"Really?" Dylan shot Silver a teasing smile, which she returned with a sour expression. "Silver's one of the best Street Fighter players I've seen for awhile. You sure you beat her?"

"Oh yeah!"

"He did." Silver admitted, taking her seat opposite Dylan. "I must be off my game."

"Nu uh." Sammy grinned at her triumphantly. "I've been practicing Brandon."

"Brandon?" Dylan echoed, glancing at Kelly, the unspoken question in his eyes.

"Steve's son." Kelly quickly amended.

"Oh yeah." Dylan nodded. He sometimes forgot Steve had named his firstborn son after Brandon.

"Where'd Brenda go?" Kelly inquired as she sat down opposite Sammy. "Bathroom?"

"Uh, no." Dylan admitted, looking down at his hands that were folded and resting atop the table, forcing himself not to fidget nervously. Kelly had advised him not to say anything yet, but he had been unable to stop himself.

"Where is she?" Kelly's tone told him that she already suspected the truth. "What did you do, Dylan?"

"Nothing!" He exclaimed defensively. "We were just talking and then, well, she left."

"She just up and left?" This time it was Silver questioning him. Dylan shot her a look, but she chose to ignore it, following up on her earlier question by adding, "Brenda wouldn't just leave. What'd you say to her?"

"Silver, it's alright." Kelly attempted to mollify the situation. "Don't give Dylan the third degree."

"Didja tell her you loved her?" Sammy asked, looking up at Dylan with his enormous eyes that could not be lied to.

"Erm, yeah." Dylan was flustered, ducking his head down as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I didn't mean to, Kell, honest. It just came out. I saw her and she looked so amazing and suddenly I was telling her everything."

"Everything?" Kelly and Silver echoed at the same moment.

"Well, not quite everything." Dylan sighed. "But I told her I loved her and wanted to spend the rest of my life convincing her of that fact."

Silver groaned. "You didn't tell her about the ring, though, right?"

"Not exactly."

Kelly glared at him. "Dylan, I told you she wouldn't react well if you laid it all out like this. She was not expecting you to show up here at the Pit. You took her by surprise. You needed to at least give her some time to get used to having you around again before confessing your undying devotion to her."

"Don't you think I realize that?" Dylan let out a long sigh, leaning back in the booth, wondering how it had come to this that he was getting love advice from his ex-girlfriend, her son, and her sister. "It's just, when I'm with Brenda everything get strange. Its like all my inhibitions are gone or something. I can't hide the truth from her. I just can't."

"But you don't have to blurt it out like you obviously did." Silver commented, her tone sarcastic though her expression was sympathetic.

"Don't stress yourself out over this, Dylan." Kelly reached across the table and gave his hand a quick, friendly squeeze. "Just go back to the plan. Friday night David, Donna, Steve, Janet, Brenda and I are all going to go bowling. You should come."

"And what, become the fifth wheel?"

"Seventh." Silver corrected. "And technically, Kelly here would become the odd man out. Though I suppose you can always invite Mr. Matthews." She directed her final comment at her sister.

"Mr. Matthews?" Dylan sat up, watching Kelly's face carefully. "Who's he, Kelly?"

"No one." Kelly's cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. "He's just a teacher at West Beverly, that's all."

"My teacher." Silver grumbled.

"A teacher, huh?" Dylan was happy the attention had finally been diverted away from his pathetic love life. "You into the scholarly types now?"

"Ryan isn't what I would consider scholarly." Kelly's lips twisted up in half a smile. "Scruffy, but not scholarly."

Dylan arched an eyebrow at this. Scruff was definitely not Kelly's type. "So you two are seeing each other?"

"Sort of." Kelly seemed uncomfortable, glancing down at Sammy, though he was completely obviously to their conversation, busy coloring on a placemat one of the waitresses had brought out earlier.

"How serious?" Dylan inquired, though he knew Kelly would probably just tell him to shut up and mind his own business.

"Not very." Kelly admitted, pushing her honey-blonde hair away from her face. "We've been on a few dates, that's about it. He wants it to be more serious, but I'm not sure."

"Because?" He prompted.

"I don't know if this is really something we should be talking about right now, Dylan." Kelly protested. "It's really complicated. Ethically, I'm not even sure if I should be seeing him at all."

"Because of me?" Silver asked and for the first time Dylan realized the teen had been following their conversation very closely. He began to understand Kelly's hesitation a bit more now.

"Yes." Kelly answered her sister. "I know I'm not your mother, but you do live with me. It's a bit of a conflict of interest, don't you think?"

"That's fine with me." Silver shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever breaks you two up is fine with me."

"You don't like him, I take it?" Dylan frowned.

"No, she doesn't." Kelly answered for her sister. "Though she won't tell me why."

"I have my reasons. That should be good enough for you." Silver stated quietly, meeting Kelly's gaze evenly. "You should trust me."

"I _do_ trust you, Silver." Kelly replied. "But you've got to give me a bit more to go on. I've known Ryan longer than you. We've worked together. I should think I might know him a bit better than you."

"You haven't known him longer, Kelly." Silver responded, shaking her head slowly. "I met him before he ever became a teacher at West Beverly."

"What do you mean?" Kelly pressed, though Silver seemed extremely uncomfortable with the conversation and the direction it was heading.

Silver did not have the opportunity to respond, however, as Dixon approached their table with a huge tray of food. "Hey guys. Sorry about the delay in getting this to you. We just got a huge phone order and the guys in the kitchen somehow missed your order."

"That's alright." Kelly reassured him.

"I'm not hungry anymore." Silver announced, sliding out of the booth and heading out the door. She glanced over her shoulder, adding, "I'm going to home. I'll see you guys later. Bye, Dixon."

"Silver…" Dixon seemed distressed that his girlfriend was so upset, but was obviously torn as he was still on the clock.

"She'll be okay, Dixon." Kelly murmured. "I'll have her call you later, okay?"

Dixon nodded his thanks then distributed the food before heading back to the counter. Kelly glanced down at the plates, saddened that even though Dylan had showed up and not added anything to their order, they still had an extra plate of food.

"So much for family night." Kelly stated glumly, though Sammy still seemed completely unaware of the drama surrounding him.

"Hey." Dylan offered her a consoling smile. "Don't get down on yourself. It's my fault Brenda left and Silver… Well, I don't know what to say about that situation. My gut tells me to truth your sister, though."

"Yeah, mine too." Kelly admitted. "That's what makes it so hard. I was to let myself fall for Ryan. He's a really sweet guy and he adores me. And I think he can make me happy, but…" She trailed off, glancing away.

"What?"

"I don't know. Something keeps holding me back. I was trying to explain it to Brenda earlier." Kelly sighed. "I just can see myself with Ryan six months from now, much less six years."

Dylan nodded, letting out a long sigh. "I understand. There gets to be a point in one's life where they realize they want to stop playing the games. Settle down. Be with one person for the rest of their life. Honestly, even when I was with other women, there was only one woman I could actually visualize myself being with long term. And that was Brenda. No offense to you, Kel."

"None taken." Kelly smiled and Dylan could tell that behind that smile she really meant it. The years and distance from when they had been lovers to now had allowed their friendship to grow and flourish unlike any romance between them ever had been able to. "Even back then I knew we weren't meant to last. Most the time I kinda wish we had never been."

Dylan was a little surprised by Kelly's words. He didn't exactly regret his relationship with Kelly, just the way it had all begun. They had some good memories together, and Dylan knew he would never have been able to develop the friendship and fondness he had for her now if it had not been for their relationship in the first place.

"Sorry." Kelly whispered softly after Dylan had said nothing for several minutes. "I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that when I look back on all the things I gave up in order to be with you, I'm not really sure it was worth it. Please don't get me wrong, I love our _friendship_ now, but our _relationship_ was dysfunctional. I hated myself while I was dating you. I think a lot of that had to due with the fact that every time we got together, it was behind someone else's back."

"We did manage to bring out the worst in one another." Dylan found himself agreeing with Kelly's statement. "But I don't regret falling in love with you. I still love you. But differently. And don't worry, I'm _not_ going to say I love you like a sister."

"Ugh." Kelly groaned, closing her eyes. "Please don't _ever_ say those words to me."

"Still hurts, doesn't it?"

"Every day." Kelly smiled ruefully.

"Every day?" Dylan echoed, studying his friend's face with concern.

Kelly nodded. "Honestly, I think maybe a total of three or four days have passed over the past ten years where I haven't thought about Brandon at all. And one of them was when I was giving birth to Sammy. My hatred for Kyle at that moment was pretty much an all consuming thing."

"But you don't hate Kyle anymore, do you?"

Kelly laughed, shaking her head. "How can anyone hate Kyle?" She smiled as she ruffled Sammy's hair. Her son looked up and smiled back, then returned to his MiniBurger, fries, and coloring page.

"I was pretty upset with him when I found out he bailed so quickly on you."

Kelly shrugged. "It was a one-night stand, Dylan. Most guys these days would demand a DNA test or something. He's never questioned me. And even though the support checks aren't exactly faithful, he always pays what he owes. Just sporadically."

"But still…"

"Kyle gave me the greatest gift I could have asked for, Dylan." Kelly offered, glancing down at Sammy with meaning. "If it hadn't been for that one night, I wouldn't be the person I am today. Yeah, it's tough being a single mom, but I'm far from alone. I have the Silvers, the Sanders, even you and now Brenda."

"Brenda?"

"She's been amazing." Kelly confirmed. "You love your Auntie Brenda, don't you, Sammy?"

Sammy bobbed his head up and down enthusiastically, his mouth stuffed with French fries.

"Auntie?"

Kelly shrugged. "I don't really have too much family, so pretty much everyone from the old gang is an uncle or aunt by default."

"But you wish Brenda wasn't by default." Dylan pressed gently.

Kelly paused for a moment, dissecting what he had said. A sad, wistful look of yearning crossed her face as she replied. "If wishes were fishes I'd have more fish than the entire ocean, Dylan. I've learned to be content with what I have and I try each day to stop living in the past. Sometimes its more difficult than others, but lately it hasn't been so hard."

"Because of Ryan?"

"Maybe." She hesitated. "I don't know. I am happier now than I've been for months. That has to count for something, doesn't it?"

"I'm going to be honest with you, Kelly," Dylan played with his words, not sure how his friend would take them, "I don't think you should give up on Brandon."

"I never gave up on Brandon. He gave up on me." Kelly pointed out. "And not just once. Several times." She sighed, shaking her head slowly. "Do you know just how many times I've been made the fool over that man?" The question was rhetorical. "Too many to count. I am _not_ going to go down that road again."

"It can't be that bad, Kelly."

"Oh yeah?" She arched her eyebrow. "Let's start at the beginning. I completely threw myself at him at the Spring Dance. What did he tell me? That he thought of me like a sister. Then, when we actually were together, there was the whole Emily incident. Not to mention the actual time he cheated on me with Emma." She paused, thinking for a moment. "Plus, there were the numerous times I tried to get back together with him only to be rebuffed. And we can't forget me throwing myself at him in Palm Springs only to have him accuse me of being a lesbian."

"You have to admit, though, the whole 'I choose me' thing was pretty harsh."

She shot him a pointed glare. "What was I supposed to do, Dylan? I thought it was a good idea at the time. I wanted the two of you to remain friends. And that worked, didn't it?"

Dylan nodded, shrugging. "I suppose so. But I think we would have worked things out even if you had told Brandon yes."

"I wasn't ready to get married, yet." Kelly frowned. "Though looking back on it, that was probably the worst mistake of my entire life."

"More than the cocaine?"

"If I had told yes to Brandon then, I wouldn't have gotten together with Colin." She explained. "No cocaine addiction. No rehab, meaning no Tara. Plus, if Brandon and I had gotten married back then, he would have never ended up with Tracy. If he hadn't gotten together with Tracy, I wouldn't have rushed off to Hawaii and then gotten shot when we came back."

"You've thought about this a lot, haven't you?"

She shrugged.

"Kelly, you've got to stop doing this to yourself." Dylan shook his head. "You either need to tell Brandon you're still in love with him or get over him entirely."

"I've already decided, Dylan. I'm doing the latter. I don't want to love Brandon anymore. Though he makes it extremely difficult to do so. Every time we talk on the phone I remember why I adore him so much. It's not fair."

"Then do something about it, Kelly." Dylan exclaimed in exasperation. "Swallow your pride one more time and tell him. What's the worst that can happen?"

"He'll tell me he sees me as sister." Kelly whispered the words softly and Dylan could swear he saw tears beginning to shine in her eyes. "Again."

Dylan reached across the table and took her hands in his. "He's not going to do that, Kelly."

"How do you know that?"

"Because-" Dylan began, but was cut off by a familiar voice.

"Because he loves you too."

_Author's Notes:_

_So, what did you guys think? I was really irritated with myself during parts of this chapter because I kept forgetting about Sammy, but then I recalled how my son is (who is about the same age as Sammy is supposed to be) and he sits quietly and eats his food as long as he has something to color, so I didn't feel _too_ bad about him not being more involved in the conversation. _

_Anyway, I've love to hear your thoughts on this. I'm going to try and whip out my next chapter in the next little bit. _


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's Notes:_

_Hey everyone! I know you guys have been super patient with me while waiting for an update on this story and I'm so sorry it took me so long. I've been super busy at work and just haven't had a chance to write at all. Okay, that's partially a lie. I have written. It's just been on The Error Proof Test instead. Sorry guys. I have to write where inspiration takes me. But, I'm going to stop taking up your time and let you read the story. Enjoy!_

_Cheers,_

_Jianna_

**Part Seven**

The evening had grown chilly and Erin Silver began to wish she had bothered to take a sweater with her when she had left Kelly's house earlier that afternoon. She wrapped her arms around her slim frame, hugging herself tightly in an attempt to generate some warmth as she walked along the street heading in the opposite direction of the Peach Pit and where she had her car parked.

She knew she had told the others she was going to be heading home, but she needed to get some air. Clear her head before she even thought about going back to Kelly's. She loved living with her sister – it was far preferable to what her living situation had been at home – but she hated keeping secrets from Kelly, and she had a hunch that Kelly would press for more details on what Silver knew about Ryan.

Silver shook her head slowly, her darken locks falling loose about her face as she walked. She didn't know if she could hide the truth for Kelly any longer. Her sister deserved to know what sort of man she was dating – especially if she was considering getting serious about the man.

"I've got to tell her." Silver murmured softly to herself, as if saying the words aloud would make it easier to do when the time actually came.

"Tell her what?"

Silver whirled around, startled, her hand instantly reaching inside her purse and her fingers slipping around her can of pepper spray. Kelly would be furious with her for walking down a dark street so oblivious to her surroundings that she had been taken off guard.

"Who's there?" Silver demanded, gritting her teeth as she yanked out the pepper spray. "I'm warning you, I've got one finger on this trigger and the other ready to dial 911 on my phone."

"Relax, Silver. It's me."

"Brenda!" Silver exclaimed, relief rushing over her. "What are you doing out here? Kelly's worried about you."

"Somehow I doubt that." Brenda sniffed.

"She is. She was really upset with Dylan when he told her what happened."

"He actually told her what he did?"

"Told you he loved you?" Silver stated, not really understanding why that would upset Brenda the way it had. "Honestly, Brenda, I can't see why you would storm out of the Peach Pit just because he actually told you he was still in love with you. I would think you would be happy about that."

"And why is that?"

"Because, it's completely obvious that you're still in love with him." Silver rolled her eyes. "Him telling you that he still loves you is a _good_ thing, Brenda."

"No, it's not." Brenda shook her head. "It means it's just that much more difficult for me to forget about him."

"Why even try?" Silver frowned. "That doesn't make sense. Why make love more complicated than it already is? He loves you. You love him. I don't see what it's so difficult."

"You don't understand, Silver." Brenda gave her a slight smile, then ran her fingers through her nearly black hair. "Dylan and I have so much complicated, messy history. It can _never_ be simple for us."

"You're just as stupid as Kelly is." Silver hesitated for half a beat, flashing Brenda a teasing smile. "In love that is. I know Dylan loves you. Kelly's been trying to get him to go and confess his feelings to you for months now. And now that he's finally worked up the nerve, you completely shoot him down in less five minutes. The poor guy."

"I do feel bad." Brenda let out a long sigh.

"So give him a chance." Silver prompted. "No one is telling you that you have to rush into a relationship with him, but at least talk to him without storming off. What can that hurt?"

"It can hurt me." Brenda's smile was sad. "But I suppose it's my lot in life. It's difficult to love Dylan McKay, but even more difficult to stop."

"Good." Silver felt triumphant. Maybe she couldn't get Dylan and Brenda completely back together, but at least she had managed to turn Brenda in somewhat the right direction. "At least you'll consider giving him a chance, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose." The older woman let out a long sigh. Then, she shook her head as if trying to clear her thoughts and met Silver's eyes with an even gaze. "Now it's your turn."

"Huh?" Silver frowned, surprised by Brenda's suddenly confident and commanding tone. "What do you mean?"

"Why'd you run out of the Peach Pit all upset? And don't try and lie to me and tell me you weren't. I was right outside the door when you burst out. You were on the verge of crying."

"Oh, it was nothing." Silver lied, shifting her gaze to stare at her feet.

"You lie just as bad as your sister, Erin Silver." Brenda chastised. "Tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can help."

Silver shook her head. "I can't, Brenda. It's just too, too wrong." She suppressed a shudder as her mind unwillingly took her back to that summer only a few short years ago. "Trust me. You don't want to know."

Brenda studied her, her gorgeous green eyes piercing into her as if she could read Silver's mind. "Are you sure?" Brenda asked her, her voice completely undemanding and non-threatening.

Silver hesitated. The secret she had been carrying around all by herself had been eating at her for years now. She was dying to tell someone, to ask someone for advice. But up until she met Brenda, there wasn't a single adult that she actually trusted. Except for Kelly, but Silver already knew what Kelly would do. Kelly would call the police. She was always a stickler about things like that.

"Alright." Silver finally consented. "I'll tell you, but you've got to swear not to tell my sister."

"I can't promise you that, Silver." Brenda cautioned her. "If your secret is something that can harm you or others, I have to tell Kelly. But, I will promise you this. I'll give you the opportunity to tell her yourself first."

Again Silver found herself debating on whether or not to tell Brenda anything. She should have known Brenda would feel obligated to mention it to someone. She didn't want to say anything, but Silver didn't know how much longer she'd be able to handle the stress of carrying around a secret this big.

"I guess that's the best I can ask for." Silver mumbled, glancing down at the sidewalk, unable to meet Brenda's eyes. "It's about Ryan."

"Ryan? Mr. Matthews? Your teacher."

Silver nodded her confirmation. "Yeah. But this happened before he was a teacher at West Beverly. And, I guess looking back on it, it's not really his fault. He didn't know. How could he have known?"

"What are you talking about?" Brenda asked her uneasily. "Maybe you ought to start at the beginning."

Silver sucked in a deep breath then let it out before beginning. "It happened the summer before Naomi and I went into high school. You know Naomi Clark, right?"

"How can I possibly _not_ know her?" Brenda was smiling. "Loud-mouth with blonde curly hair. Kinda a bitch."

"Yeah. That's her." Silver agreed, enjoying Brenda's description of her former best friend. "Well, back in grade school and junior high, she and I were best friends. We even got matching tattoos. How pathetic is that?"

Brenda eyed her skeptically. "You were able to get a tattoo when you were in junior high?"

Silver flushed guiltily. "Naomi knew a guy. Anyway…" Silver looked away, suddenly uncomfortable bearing her soul to the woman who had once been her sister's best friend. "Before Jackie found out that Mel was cheating on her _again_, I knew. I walked in on him with his mistress. He freaked out but I swore to him I wouldn't tell Jackie because, well, no one wants their parents to split up, right?"

"Right."

"Well, one day I was bawling my eyes out and I let it slip to Naomi. She was my best friend, right? I should have been able to trust her."

"Unfortunately, that's not always the case."

"Tell me about it." Silver sniffled, wiping at a tear that had begun to slide down her cheek. "She told _everyone_. Needless to say, my mom found out and she and Mel split up. This time for good."

"I'm sorry." Brenda whispered, squeezing Silver's hand gently.

"Well, it was a long time ago." Silver brushed her off. "And that really doesn't have much to do with what I know about Ryan."

"So tell me what your know about Ryan that you're so terrified of Kelly finding out."

"He slept with Naomi."

The shock on Brenda's face would have almost been amusing if the situation wasn't so grave. "Wh-what do you mean, he slept with Naomi?"

"Exactly what I said." Silver shrugged her shoulders. "The summer before she and I went into high school, she met him at the beach. She and I weren't friends any longer, but I'd be lying if I told you I still wasn't aware of pretty much everything she was doing."

"I understand what you mean. When Kelly and I had our falling out, she and I weren't speaking to each other for weeks but I still knew just about everything she was doing."

Silver gave her a small smile of appreciation. "Yeah, well, that summer Naomi thought it would be hilarious to pretend to be older than she was. I mean, she was all of what, thirteen almost fourteen, but she managed to pull it off. She was doing it to get back at Ethan. They had broken up right after school ended and she wanted to hurt him." Silver paused, chewing on her lower lip thoughtfully. "She fooled quite a few guys that summer, but then she met Ryan."

"Yes, Ryan. Who is what, ten years older than her?"

"Not quite about seven. But still. It's illegal. Very illegal."

"No kidding. So, Ryan actually believed her when she told him she was what, eighteen?"

Silver nodded. "I saw them trolling around together at the Beach Club. He seemed to have fallen for her pretty hard. Don't ask me why. She was a bitch even back then, but she has this way of making guys fall for her. Don't ask me how."

"So, he slept with her not knowing she was just a teenager."

"Yeah. He actually didn't find out until the first day of school. There she was sitting in English class when he walked in. I think they both turned as white as a sheet."

"Wow." Brenda shook her head slowly. "I can see why you don't want Kelly finding out about this. There's nothing going on between them still, is there?"

"No. She's back with Ethan now. Sometimes." Silver let out a long sigh. "Sometimes, though, when he doesn't think anyone is watching, I see him looking at her, a strange look on his face. Honestly, I think that if she were eighteen, he'd be with her in a minute."

"Yes, but she's not eighteen. She's barely sixteen." Brenda stated firmly. "And regardless of how old she told him she was, he should have known better."

"What are you going to do?" Silver asked, suddenly worried. She didn't exactly care for Ryan, but she knew he could loose his job – his entire career – over something like this.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I think you should tell Kelly, though. She deserves to know the truth." Brenda began. "I know the right thing to do would be to go to the police."

"No, you can't." Silver pleaded with her. "It would destroy Ryan and despite everything, he is a good teacher. I know I give him a really hard time, but I know he's actually a decent guy. I don't want to destroy his life like this."

Brenda hesitated, obviously mulling over her options. "Why don't we both talk to Kelly tonight. I know how she'll react at first, full of self-righteous anger, but I think that if we talk to her she'll see sense and then maybe between the three of us we can figure out what we should do."

"Don't you think we should talk to Ryan too, though? I mean, he deserves to know what is going on."

"Maybe." Brenda mused. "But let's talk to Kelly first." She shot a glance over her shoulder back towards the Peach Pit. "But, maybe back at her house. I, um, well, I don't really want to go back in there right now."

Silver smiled sympathetically at her. "I guess that's understandable. Though knowing Dylan like I do, he'd be happy to see you no matter what the circumstances are."

"And just how do you know Dylan so well, huh?" Brenda challenged, though her expression was amused.

"Oh, Uncle Dylan and I go waaaay back." Silver grinned mischievously. "You know, when I was twelve I thought I was going to marry him someday."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah." Silver agreed. "I actually proposed. And do you know what he told me?"

"What?"

"That he wasn't the marrying kind." Silver stated, pausing for half a beat to add emphasis to her words. "But I guess some things change."

Brenda shook her head, a sad look in her eyes. "Or, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Come on, kid, let's head home."

_Author's Notes:_

_So I've explained away Ryan's sordid little past, though it probably didn't come too much as a shocker for you guys. I'm going to start working on the next part right now and I promise, it is going to be back at the Peach Pit and I'll finally reveal who the familiar voice is. I've had a bunch of guesses, but none of them right thus far. *evil grin*_

_Cheers,_

_Jianna_


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Notes:_

_New week, new part. I'm not sure how much longer this story is going to be. Originally I had intended on exploring a few more storylines with the characters from the new 90210, but I haven't seen it for a very, very long time and I'm not sure I can accurately write their personalities any longer. I may try. I'm not sure. As it is, I figure this story is about halfway done. I may write a sequel, however. We'll have to see. _

_Anyway, I must go so I can post this. Read and let me know what you think!_

_Cheers,_

_Jianna_

**Part 08**

"Valerie?" Kelly's jaw dropped open as she stared at her former nemesis, completely shocked to see her standing in front of their table. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

Valerie's lips curled up in a secretive yet almost taunting smile. "I came to see you, _Kel_." Valerie spat out the familiar nickname that really only Brandon and Dylan used with her.

"Somehow I doubt that." Kelly studied Valerie, noting that the other woman really had not aged much at all since she had last seen her at David and Donna's wedding over eight years ago. "What do you really want?"

"What? Still don't trust me after all these years?" Valerie mocked as she slid into the booth next to Dylan, forcing him to scoot over or else she'd end up in his lap. "I thought we had moved past all this drama."

"We have." Kelly forced a smile, her hands clenching into fists into her lap. She would not let Valerie get to her. She was an adult now, mother of a four-year-old and guardian of a fifteen-year-old. She could not afford to play Valerie's little games any longer.

"Why are you here, though, Valerie? I mean, really?" The question came from Dylan, his expression showing that he was no more pleased to see the vixen than Kelly was. "The last I knew, you had shaken the dust of Beverly Hills off your designer boots and planned on never coming back."

"Plans change." Valerie shrugged as if her words from years ago meant nothing. "But my answer has not. I really did come to see you, Kelly." This time she said the words without the mocking sting and Kelly was almost tempted to take her seriously.

"What for?" Dylan inquired, glancing over at Kelly asking her a silent question that she did not understand. "Why Kelly?"

"Because," Valerie's face broke out in a wide, genuine smile. "She's in charge of the Homecoming Dance at West Beverly, of course."

"But you never went to West Beverly." Kelly pointed out the obvious. "You can't come."

"Unless my date went to West Beverly."

"Who's the lucky guy?" Kelly frowned, trying to recall if someone had already responded that had listed Valerie as their guest. She was pretty sure she would have noticed Valerie's name on the guest list, but she had been fairly overwhelmed at work the past few weeks. Not to mention distracted.

"Oh, I don't know. You tell me." Valerie's eyes were sparkling mischievously and Kelly was having a hard time reconciling this almost cheerful and friendly woman to the malicious vampiress she had known years ago.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll be frank with you, Kelly." Valerie's expression sobered as she ran a hand through her hair, musing it slightly. "I know I didn't go to West Beverly Hills High School, but I've always felt a kinship with you and the whole gang who did graduate from there. When Brenda mentioned the Homecoming dance over the phone, I thought I'd hop on a jet and come back to California to see the old gang again."

Kelly stared at Valerie skeptically. She wanted to believe the other woman, but after their history, Kelly's instinct screamed at her not to trust Valerie. "So you're trying to wrangle an invite from me?"

"A date, actually." Valerie shrugged. "I figured you were in charge of the list of people who had RSVPed and would know someone on the list who didn't already have a date for the shindig. Maybe you can set the two of us up or something."

Kelly forced herself not to roll her eyes before she answered Valerie. "No one is really going to be asking for student ID, Valerie. You can come if you really want to."

"Really?"

"Yes, really." Kelly replied, a cautious smile on her face. "But if you really want to go legit, I suppose I can put you down as my date."

"Your date?" Valerie echoed, a strange smile on her lips. "Why Kelly, I never knew you thought of me that way."

Kelly rolled her eyes at Valerie's deliberate misunderstanding of her offer. "Look, I was only offering because it sounded like you want to go to the homecoming dance legitimately. My actual date doesn't need a West Beverly alum to take him. He's chaperoning."

"Chaperoning?" Valerie suppressed a shudder, an amused light in her eyes. "So, you're dating a teacher now or something?"

Kelly gave a small shrug. "Sort of. It's nothing serious. Not really, anyway."

"Well, Brandon will be relieved to hear it." Valerie's grin was playful. "You know the ol' boy is still hung up on you."

"Is that what you meant earlier when you showed up?" Kelly inquired, refusing to get her hopes up. She had been down this road one too many times before.

"Of course." Valerie admitted. "I _know_ Brandon is still in love with you."

"And just how do you _know_, Val?" Dylan asked, his expression stormy.

"Because every girl he's dating since he and Kelly broke up has been a blonde haired, blue eyed, nosey do-gooder. Basically, a carbon-copy of you." She explained as she stared Kelly directly in the eyes. "Most of those relationships have lasted about four to six weeks and then he dumps them – obviously because they just don't measure up to the original Kelly Taylor."

"That's so sad." Kelly felt her heart go out to Brandon. Sure, she was lonely now, but she had at least had some lasting and meaningful relationships over the past ten years. From the sounds of it, Brandon had not.

"No. It's pathetic." Valerie frowned. "I'm tired of seeing him moon over you every few months after he's broken up with his latest imitation Kelly. The boy is never going to be happy until he's with you, Kelly."

"Valerie, you played the role of trying to break us up for far too long for me to even attempt to believe you now." Kelly slowly shook her head, a sad smile playing up on her lips. "If Brandon can't find happiness, it's not because he's pinning away for me. He made it very clear to me when we broke up that he did not love me like that. Our relationship is like brother and sister. Completely platonic."

"Look, Kelly, I've actually been in that position. If Brandon didn't start busting up laughing when he finally saw you naked, he does _not_ look at you like a sister."

"You slept with Brandon?" Kelly's head shot up in shock. "When?"

"See, I knew it." Valerie exclaimed triumphantly. "I _knew_ you still loved him too."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kelly sniffed, turning her head away. She could sense Dylan trying to meet her gaze, but she refused to look at him, instead studying an old, autographed photo of Marilyn Monroe that still hung above the booth despite the Peach Pits latest renovations.

"The way you reacted, Kelly." Valarie pointed out. "It's obvious you're still in love with him. If you still love him and he still loves you, I really don't see a problem. Do you? Oh, and for the record, we didn't sleep together. Like I said, he started laughing uncontrollably. Great way to boost a girl's self-esteem."

Kelly glanced up, meeting Valerie's gaze, seeing the old hurt there. Perhaps Brandon really had seen Valerie only as a sister, but Kelly could tell that the feelings had not been the same for the girl. "I'm sorry." Kelly felt a strange sense of kinship with Valerie. "Despite what you may think, I've been there. Being told on what you thought would be your wedding day that your fiancé loves you like a sister and nothing else, well, it's hard to overcome. To this day it still bothers me. But, in spite of my reaction, my heart is closed to Brandon Walsh once and for all."

"Kelly, maybe you ought to reconsider." Dylan spoke up, breaking the rare and unusual moment between Valerie and Kelly. "You may not believe her, but I know what Valerie is telling you is the truth. Brandon really never has gotten over you. You were the first girl he ever fell in love with. The only one he ever proposed to, ever wanted to marry. The first cut really _is_ the deepest. If I still naively believe I stand a chance at winning Brenda back, I have to believe you and Brandon should be together. For both your sakes."

"Dylan…" Kelly cautioned, not wanting him to reveal just how not over Brandon she really was in front of Valerie. Kelly had known for years that Valerie had remained in constant contact with both of the Walsh twins and regardless of Valerie's seemingly harmless agenda, Kelly could not trust the woman.

"Look, Kelly. If everyone around you is telling you to give this whole thing with Brandon a shot, why don't you?" Valerie demanded, suddenly almost irritated with the blonde.

"What whole thing with Brandon?" Kelly exclaimed, immediately on the defensive. "There is no _thing_ with Brandon. Just you, Dylan, and Brenda harassing me, telling me that I shouldn't be over him. That I shouldn't move on. It's been ten years, Valerie. Ten years!" She ran a frustrated hand through her hair, tears suddenly spilling over her cheeks. "I am over Brandon. Yes, I still have feelings for him. I will love him until the day I die, but I will not do that to myself again. Period." She put special emphasis on her words. "Now, if you'll excuse me. My son and I should be getting home."

Valerie started, suddenly noticing Sammy for the first time. "Oh my goodness! I didn't see you there." She exclaimed. "I, uh, I mean,"

Kelly felt a bit smug that Valerie was at a loss for words. "Yeah." Kelly shot her a dark look. "Not exactly appropriate table talk in front of a child. Come on, Sammy. Let's go home."

Kelly took Sammy's hand in her own, leading him out of the diner, stopping only to hand Nat a few bills at the register. Nat gave her a sympathetic smile, whether it was because he had overheard the conversation taking place at her booth or if it was because he well-remembered the animosity that had always existed between her and Val. Whatever the reason, Kelly nodded her appreciation then hurried out of restaurant, willing herself to remain in control a few minutes longer so she could get home safely.

"Mommy?" Sammy asked her as she began buckling him into his car seat, his eyes wide and questioning.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Why are you mad at Uncle Dylan? Is it because what he was saying about Kyle?"

Kelly's eyes widened with surprised. She hadn't been aware Sammy had been paying attention to her and Dylan's conversation. She took a deep breath, trying to recall just what they had said. She couldn't remember if she had actually mentioned Kyle was Sammy's father or not.

"Um, no, Sammy." Kelly pursed her lips together. "I'm not angry with Uncle Dylan at all. The woman who showed up at our table, Valerie, she said some things that I wasn't quite ready to hear."

"Am I ever going to meet him?"

"Meet who, sweetie?" Kelly furrowed her brow, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Kyle."

"Wh-why would you want to meet him?"

"Because he's my dad." Sammy stated simply, as if it was obvious.

Kelly felt all the blood drain from her face at Kyle's words. "What did you say?" She whispered, barely audible.

"He's my dad, isn't he?" Sammy questioned her, his eyes begging her for the truth. "Grandma told me he was."

White-hot anger coursed through Kelly as he said this. Jackie was going to be in so much trouble. She had only told her mother in a moment of weakness when she had used the 'you don't love me' card against Kelly. Now Kelly regretted ever feeling sorry for the old bag.

"Yes, Sammy. Kyle Conners is your father." Kelly finally gave in, knowing that it was too late to try and deny it. Besides, if she did, Sammy would no doubt grow up resenting her – though he'd probably end up resenting her for something else anyway. Such was the nature of children. "Things didn't work out between us and we decided that it would be best for you to live with me."

Sammy nodded his head and Kelly could tell that he really did comprehend what she was telling him. "I still want to meet him."

"Someday. I promise." Kelly ruffled his hair as she rose and closed his car door. She walked over to the driver's side of the car, unlocking her door and getting back inside quickly. She adjusted her rearview mirror so she could lock gazes with her son across the car. "I love you, Sammy." She whispered, though he could hear her.

"I love you too, Mommy."

And suddenly Kelly knew that no matter what happened, Sammy's was the only male's love she ever needed. She didn't need Kyle. She didn't need Brandon. She didn't even need Dylan – though she knew their romantic past really was over and done with. She would be alright. As long as she had Sammy, she would be alright.

_Author's Notes:_

_So, what did you guys think? Please let me know. I'm not sure where I'm going to go with this story next. Probably back to Kelly's house and deal with the whole Ryan thing. We'll see._


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's Notes:_

_Hey guys! I know it's been awhile since I posted part eight of this story and I appreciate your patience with me. I've been really busy at work and I've also gone and done a foolish thing and started a new 90210 fiction called Summer Lovin' so if you haven't already, please go check it out and let me know what you think. It's an AU fic set in season three during the Summer of Deception and will make it so the dreaded Bermuda Triangle never existed. No matter how much Luke Perry wanted to work with Jennie Garth. ;)_

_Anyway, if you guys are getting impatient with me and my writing, I recommend you go check out Court819's stories (__.net/u/1591835/__). She's got two of them and though they're both only just beginning, they're completely brilliant and I highly recommend checking them out. _

_Cheers,_

_Jianna_

**Part 09**

Brenda let out a heavy sigh as she sunk deeper into Kelly's sofa, part of her wishing that it could swallow her alive so she would not have to deal with all the drama that had taken place since she had gotten off work that afternoon. It seemed like far too much to all occur in a span of a few short hours, yet somehow it had managed to and unfortunately, Brenda thought to herself as she stared across the living room at her former best friend, it was far from over.

"So, you want to tell me what is going on?" Kelly inquired, her tone defensive as she eyed her younger sister and Brenda suspiciously. "You two going to tag team me or something?"

"Or something." Brenda replied guardedly, shifting her gaze over towards Silver who was squirming nervously on the seat beside her. Brenda could relate all too well with Silver's uneasiness, but she was not fifteen-years-old and couldn't allow herself to give in to it.

"The way both of you stormed out of the Peach Pit tonight, I should have expected something like this to happen as soon as I got home." Kelly let out a long sigh, her expression saddening. "Who does this have to do with? Dylan or Ryan?"

"Ryan." Brenda supplied since it was obvious Silver was going to have a hard time speaking up. "Why don't you tell your sister what you told me, Silver?"

Silver glanced up, her eyes pooling with tears. "Kelly," Silver began, her lower lip trembling and Brenda could tell the younger girl was on the verge of loosing it. "You've got to stop seeing Ryan. I know I've told you this before, but you've really got to call it off with him."

"Why?" Kelly asked bluntly, though Brenda could tell from her expression and from their conversations this past week, Kelly was actually considering it. "What do you have against him, Silver? What has he done?"

Silver looked down, chewing so hard on her lower lip that Brenda was sure she was going to draw blood any minute now. "He's not a good guy, Kelly." She whispered quietly. "He slept with Naomi."

Brenda watched as Kelly's face slowly began to loose all its color, turning even paler than her fair friend was normally. Her eyes lost their focus and Brenda began to worry that her friend might pass out.

"You okay?" Brenda inquired, reaching out and taking Kelly's hand in hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. When Kelly did not respond, Brenda repeated her question, trying to meet Kelly's eyes, but the blonde refused.

"Kelly?" Silver repeated her sister's name, her own fear apparent on your face. "Kelly?"

"Um, yeah." Kelly's eyes finally regained focus as she shook her head almost violently as she attempted to snap herself out of the trance. "I'm sorry about that. Wh-what did you say, Silver?"

Silver shot Brenda a worried look, but Brenda shook her head minutely. "A couple of years ago," Brenda began slowly, her eyes locking on Kelly's. "According to Silver, he didn't realize she was just a teenager."

"How could he not realize?" Kelly exclaimed, sounding irate. "A couple of years ago, Naomi Clark would have been fourteen years old!"

"Yes, and I was only fifteen when I fooled Jason." Brenda pointed out. "And, I'm sure if you looked at a picture of me when I was fifteen and one of Naomi when she was fourteen, you'd still say she was older."

"Jason?" Silver's head show up. "Who's Jason?"

Brenda pursed her lips, considering just how much she should reveal to Kelly's little sister. At last she let out a long sigh, knowing that if she told Silver the full story she might forgive her teacher just a bit and realize that maybe he wasn't quite the child predator she believed him to be.

"When I first moved to Beverly Hills," She began, watching Kelly out of the corner of her eye, ready to stop if Kelly suddenly decided her sister should not be hearing certain information. "I went to a night club using a fake, or rather, doctored ID. While there, I met this guy, Jason, who I thought was super cute at the time. Since I was in a twenty-one and over club, he immediately assumed I was far older than sixteen and we went on a few dates. Things were getting pretty serious but eventually I told him how old I really was and he broke it off."

"Did you sleep with him?" Silver demanded bluntly.

Brenda shook her head. "No. But I was about to. I was planning on spending the night with him but I wanted him to know how old I was before we did. A good friend of mine told me that if he was really in love with me, the age difference wouldn't matter. However, neither of us was really thinking too clearly and didn't even consider the legal ramifications."

"It's not the same." Silver brushed it off, her eyes steely. "Ryan _did_ sleep with Naomi."

"Did Naomi tell him how old she was?" Brenda asked. "Did she give him a chance to break it off before it was too late?"

"I don't know." Silver replied.

"Are you sure they actually slept together?" Brenda continued, suddenly wondering just how Silver had gotten her information in the first place. It could be that the teenager had jumped to conclusions – dangerous conclusions.

"Because it's Naomi." Silver stated as if that should answer Brenda's question. "She sleeps with everyone."

"Are you sure that's true?"

"Stop, Brenda." Kelly sat up straight then quickly rose to her feet. "Stop making excuses for Ryan. I see the similarities between his and Jason's situations, but Silver is right. It's not the same."

Kelly turned and walked towards the kitchen, picking up the phone and quickly dialing a number that was obviously fairly familiar to her.

"Who you calling?" Silver inquired.

"Ryan." Kelly stated simply. "I'm going to have him come over."

"What?" Silver's face paled in much the same manner as Kelly's had only a few minutes before. "Why are you going to do that?"

"Because he needs to know what is going on. And, well, I want to give him a chance to explain himself before I call the police." Kelly explained, her expression grim.

"But you can't!" Silver jumped to her feet, her eyes widening. "I mean, what if he didn't really sleep with Naomi. What if I just thought something happened between them?"

Kelly arched an eyebrow. "Silver, what do you mean? Did you see something? Did Naomi say something? What exactly is the basis of your conclusions that they slept together? If it's only by Naomi's reputation, I know from experience that does not necessarily mean they actually had sex."

"I-I saw them together." Silver looked away as she twisted her hands nervously. "On the beach. They were making out pretty hot and heavy. I didn't want to see any more so I walked away."

Brenda felt herself shiver, well recalling how she and Jason had nearly slept together. She knew how wrong it was now, but at the time she thought it was cool that her boyfriend wasn't just a college guy, but an actual grad student. She could understand what must have been going through Naomi's head at the time and couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Ryan.

"I need to talk to Ryan." Kelly pressed the call button the phone, holding it against her ear for several seconds before he obviously picked up. "Hey Ryan," She greeted him, her tone a forced cheerful one. "Sorry for calling so late. I need to talk to you, though. Do you think you can come over?" She waited, irritation flashing briefly in her eyes. "Yes, now, Ryan. It's important." Another pause as he replied. "Alright. I'll see you in a few."

Kelly replaced the phone in the receiver, turning to look at Brenda and Silver. "Well, that's done. He'll be here in about fifteen minutes. When he gets here, Silver, I want you to tell him that you know about what happened between him and Naomi and that you told both Brenda and I. I figure that will loosen his tongue a bit."

"He already knows I know, though." Silver frowned. "I confronted him that first day of school when I saw he was our teacher."

"Really?" Brenda furrowed her brow. "What did he say?"

"He told me that I didn't know what I was talking about and that I shouldn't really get involved in other people's business." Silver explained.

Kelly's tightened her jaw, shooting Brenda a glance that told the brunette that Kelly was going to tear Ryan a new one as soon as he showed up on her doorstep. "Bren…" She began, the question in her eyes.

"I'll talk to him." Brenda answered the unasked question. "I think we really need to make sure we know the truth before we do anything."

"Whether or not he slept with him, his actions were illegal and extremely inappropriate. Especially for a teacher. As a guidance counselor, I _have_ to report him, Brenda." Kelly stated, her tone pleading with Brenda to understand. "Just because you have been in a similar circumstance does not forgive his actions."

"What will happen to him?" Silver asked quietly, the worry clearly stamped on her face.

"Jail, probably." Kelly murmured softly.

"What about that whole statute of limitations thing? I mean, this has been a couple of years now…" Silver trailed off.

"In California a victim has until eight years after they are legally an adult to press charges." Kelly explained, though Brenda could tell it was tearing her friend up to be talking about this.

"You mean Naomi would have to press charges in order for something to happen?" Silver's ears perked up.

"Silver, sweetie," Kelly pulled Silver close and gave her a hug. "Don't feel bad about this. Ryan was the one who made the wrong choices, not you. Do not blame yourself for bringing this to light."

"What if both of them deny it? Then what will happen?" Brenda found herself asking. "Will the State file?"

Kelly shrugged. "I really don't know. This has been the first instance of something like this happening during my tenure at West Beverly. At least the first that I know of." Her expression was sad and Brenda knew exactly how she felt.

"Why don't we hold off discussing this further until Ryan gets here?" Brenda suggested. "There's no point in trying to find out where he's going to be spending the next fifteen to twenty years until we hear his side of the story."

"What do you suggest we talk about then?" Silver inquired. "Dylan?"

"Um, no." Brenda quickly shook her head, adding, "I wouldn't want to bore you two to death with a lesson in ancient history."

"It doesn't look like ancient history from where I stand." Silver stated.

"I agree." Kelly chimed in, her expression relaxing a little, though Brenda could tell the blonde was still troubled. "Dylan and I – now that's ancient history. But the two of you… Your relationship will never be ancient history."

Brenda rolled her eyes, shaking her head. She was not about to admit what was really going on inside her heart and head to these two. If she did, she doubted they would ever leave her alone about it. But she couldn't just let herself give in to Dylan, not after the years she spent trying to forget about him. Dylan was far easier to fall in love with than out.

"I really don't want to talk about it right now, guys." Brenda explained with a heavy sigh. "I just don't think I'm ready to fall for Dylan. Maybe with time-"

"Brenda, you're thirty-three-years-old. You don't have much time left." Silver pointed out, an evil grin on her face.

"Oh, shut up." Kelly threw a pillow at her sister, hitting the younger girl square in the face. "Just you wait until you're our age. Then we'll see how you feel."

Silver gave a mock shudder, a teasing glint in her eyes. "I don't think I _ever_ want to be in my thirties. That's so _old_!"

"Come here, you!" Kelly sprang out of her chair, launching herself at Silver. Before Brenda knew what was happening, the sisters had rolled onto the floor both of them trying to get the upper hand on one another as they wrestled and tried to tickle one another.

Brenda couldn't help but crack up at the sight. She could well remember a time or two when she and Brandon would wrestle like that, though if she recalled correctly, Brandon never played quite as dirty as Kelly and Silver were.

"Ouch!" Kelly exclaimed after Silver's elbow had connected a little too sharply with her ribs. "That one hurt, Silver!"

"Another thing I get to look forward to when I'm old. Always being in pain." Silver giggled as she rolled away from her sister, pulling herself into an upright position on the floor. "You need some Ben Gay for that?"

"Ha, ha." Kelly glared at her, but she took the good-natured ribbing well. Kelly pushed herself up off the ground and reclaimed her seat in the overstuffed living chair that Brenda happened to know was the most comfortable chair in the entire house.

Brenda opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted with a sharp knock on the door. She and Kelly's eyes met and the pleasant atmosphere from moments before immediately evaporated leaving only a tension that Brenda did not like.

"Um," Kelly began, rising out of her chair. "I guess I'll go get that. It's probably Ryan."

Brenda nodded. "Silver, are you okay being in here?"

Kelly hesitated at the door, watching her sister's face carefully as Silver debated within herself. At last, Silver nodded, moving over to the couch beside Brenda.

"Go ahead, Kel." Silver said, her voice tight and full of anxiety. "Let's get this over with.

Kelly nodded, slowly opening the door to reveal the stylishly scruffy-looking English teacher on the other side. His expression was guarded and Brenda could instantly tell that he knew something was wrong.

"Hey Kelly." Ryan greeted her with a quick kiss on the cheek, which Brenda noticed the blonde pulled away from. "What's up?"

"Why don't you come on inside?" Kelly ushered him in, gesturing towards the living room.

Ryan smiled a tight smile as he entered the room, nodding at both Brenda and Silver. "Ladies." He greeted.

"Hi Ryan." Brenda tried to put as much pleasantness in her tone as possible. "How are you doing?"

"I _was_ doing alright." Ryan answered, taking a seat in the chair Kelly had been in only moments before. "But I get the impression I'm not going to be so alright after tonight. Am I?"

"Good guess." Kelly agreed with him, taking the seat on the couch between Brenda and Silver. "Can you also guess what this is about?"

"I have a hunch." Ryan let out a long sigh, his eyes lingering on Silver. "And I've got to tell you, I'm happy to have a phone call from you rather than the police showing up on my doorstep, handcuffs ready."

"So you understand the gravity of the situation." Kelly stated slowly, worry lining her face.

"Of course I do. And I also understand that you are required under the law to report it." Ryan answered her, his eyes locking with hers. "I really do appreciate the fact that you called me first."

"I wanted to hear your side of the story first. Then I think we need to talk to Naomi. After that, I think we can decide what is the best thing to do." Kelly said, her tone firm and if Brenda did not know better, she would have never suspected that Kelly and Ryan were technically dating.

"My side of the story." Ryan's lips quirked up in a tense smile. "That will be nice to tell. Other people have never really given me the opportunity." He shot a glance in Silver's direction.

"Do not try and put any blame on Silver." Kelly's voice was low and threatening. "_She_ has done _nothing_ wrong."

"I wasn't trying to say she had." Ryan objected, though even Brenda, who was sympathetic towards the teacher's cause, did not quite buy it. He glanced at the three women, then seeing their expressions, slumped a little lower in the chair. "Alright. I'm sorry, Silver. I didn't mean to imply anything. I really didn't."

Silver shrugged, her expression distant. "Whatever."

"Just get on with it, Ryan." Brenda interjected. "It's getting late and I'm still on London time."

Ryan nodded. "Alright. I will. But I've got to tell you, it's not exactly a pretty story."

"We sort of expected that." Kelly's voice was laced with sarcasm.

With a heavy sigh, Ryan began, his eyes trained on Kelly. "A couple of summers ago I was living with a friend whose family leased out a cabana at the Beverly Hills Beach Club. I'm not much of a surfer, but I do enjoy the beach a lot and spent nearly every day that summer there. Usually playing a pickup game of volleyball or something.

"Anyway, during one of these pickup games, I met this girl who was absolutely stunning, extremely witty, and was obviously very in to me. She told me her name was Olivia and that she was a freshman at California University. I suppose I should have asked her more questions, like maybe her year of birth, but I had no reason not to believe her. She actually _looked_ like she was eighteen or nineteen years old.

"She and I saw each other nearly every single day on the beach and began to hang out quite often. We never saw each other away from the beach club, but we did have dinner a couple of times there. We began a relationship of sorts, a very frustrating relationship. She never really let me get close, though looking back on it now I can understand why."

"What do you mean, she never let you get close? I saw you two making out." Silver interjected, her eyes flashing angrily.

"Yeah, I suppose you did. And we did do that quite often. We made out a lot and talked a lot. But we never actually did much else."

"You mean you never slept with her?" Brenda asked, wanting to make sure they were very clear on this point.

"No." He shook his head. "We never slept together. We never even spent the night together. Towards the end of the summer, I invited her back to my apartment but she told me no. She actually told me she wanted to wait until her wedding day to give herself to someone."

"Are you serious?" Silver rolled her eyes.

Ryan nodded. "Yeah. And even though you guys probably will not believe me, I respected her for that. I had just come out of a really bad relationship myself and wanted to take things slowly. I was really serious about her. I really cared for her a lot."

"So when did you realize she was only fourteen?" Kelly asked, her voice had softened quite a bit since she had first invited him inside.

"When I saw her sitting in my English class." Ryan let out a rueful yet humorless chuckle. "I walked in, ready to conquer the world, then saw her sitting there. Her whole posture and attitude was completely different from the woman I had met on the beach. We locked gazes and I thought that my career as a teacher was immediately over."

"So what happened?" Brenda pressed.

"Well, thankfully, Naomi didn't say anything at the time. She waited until after class. She pulled me aside and told me she would keep our relationship a secret, that she had known what she was doing was wrong and she should have stopped it long before it had become that complicated."

"Complicated? Wasn't it just a summer fling?"

Ryan's lips quirked up. "I wish. Maybe it was for her, but I was really beginning to fall for 'Olivia'. I thought she was everything I was looking for in a woman. Unfortunately, she wasn't quite a woman yet."

"Have you talked to her since then?" Kelly inquired. "And not just giving her a hard time about not getting her assignments in."

"No, not really. I wanted to put as much distance between us as possible. Give myself some time to recover." Ryan sighed. "To be honest with you, I've been expecting something like this to happen for the past two years. Naomi isn't exactly known for keeping a secret."

"You've got that right." Silver agreed with him.

"So, what are you going to do?" Ryan's question was directed at Kelly. "Are you going to tell Harry and the school board?"

Kelly hesitated for a long moment before answering him. "Honestly, I don't know." She admitted at last. "I think there's one more person I need to talk to before I can make that decision."

"Naomi?"

Kelly nodded. "Your story matches up with what Silver told us. If Naomi's does as well, I really don't know if there is anything to report."

"In my opinion, there isn't." Brenda affirmed. "You were duped by a high school girl. It wasn't your fault. You're not the first guy who has been tricked like that." She shot Kelly a look and her friend smiled.

"She's right. Some girls seem to think it's a game or something. They don't realize they could destroy a man's life." Kelly added. "Of course, there are also some girls who don't know any better as well."

"Oh, I have a hard time believing that." Ryan forced a chuckle.

"I think you might be surprised." Brenda pursed her lips together in a smile. "But, lets not go into that right now. I think that at this point, we just need to make sure we talk to Naomi as soon as possible, and somehow without it being too suspicious. Do you think you can call her into your office tomorrow at school?" She asked Kelly.

"Oh, I think I can manage that." Kelly agreed.

"Do you want me to be there?" Ryan asked and both Brenda and Kelly shook her heads at the same time.

"No." Kelly told him. "In fact, I want you to spend the night here on my couch and then call in sick tomorrow. I don't want to run any chance of you trying to intimidate Naomi into telling a tale to collaborate with yours."

"Kel, I don't think Naomi could be intimidated to do anything." Silver pointed out.

"Just the same." Kelly fixed an even look on Ryan. "I just want to make sure."

"She's right." Ryan assented, his tone weary. "I'll stay here. On the couch." He added for Kelly's benefit.

Kelly nodded, offering him a small smile of apology. "I'll go get some sheets and blankets. Silver," She directed her attention towards her teenaged sister. "It's late and it's a school night. You need to head to bed right away. No staying up texting Dixon, alright?"

"Yes, ma'am." Silver rolled her eyes as she rose to her feet. "G'night, Brenda." She hesitated, studying Ryan for a long moment before adding, "Good night, Mr. Matthews. I really do hope everything works out for you. I know I've given you a really hard time over all of this, but talking with Kelly and Brenda tonight, I guess I should have given you the benefit of the doubt. Especially since I know Naomi."

Ryan's smile was grim in return. "Your support now is what is important to me, Silver. Thank you."

The teen nodded then headed in the direction of her bedroom, Kelly following to retrieve the extra blankets out of the hall closet.

"Now is not really the time, Ryan, but maybe someday I'll tell you about Jason." Brenda stated. She glanced down at her watch, realizing for the first time that it was already past midnight. "I really need to get going. Will you please tell Kelly good night for me and I'll see her in the morning?"

"Sure. You bet." Ryan agreed.

"Thanks."

"No, thank you." Ryan murmured softly. "I know that if you hadn't been here, I would already be wearing steel bracelets."

"How do you mean?"

"I may not know Kelly as well as you, but I know how she is about this sort of thing. I'm surprised you managed to talk her out of calling the police immediately."

"Maybe you don't know Kelly Taylor as well as you think." Brenda offered then turned and walked out the door.

_Author's Notes:_

_That last part was kinda difficult for me to write because somehow during the past several weeks I've started to like Ryan a bit more than I did when I first started writing this story. Funny thing is, I haven't watched a single episode of the new 90210 since the Spring Awakening episode. LOL Anyway… I started to feel sorry for the guy and decided I didn't want to see him serving fifteen to twenty… _

_Anyway, please let me know what you guys think of this part. I'm going to try and get the next part up soon. Well, sooner than this one got up. Maybe by Friday? I dunno. We'll see. Until then… _

_Cheers,_

_Jianna_


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's Notes:_

_Hey everyone! New update. Probably the only one I'm going to be able to get out this week due to the holidays – though it is pretty long. For this story anyway. :) The story began to write itself a bit in places and I am going to need you guys to work with me on this one._

**Part 10**

The early November sun beat down on Brandon Walsh as he slowly navigated the winding streets of Beverly Hills that had once been so familiar to him. He had missed his turn at least three times now and it was starting to drive him nuts. It had been far, far too long since he had been back.

"I don't know, man," He spoke into his cell phone, trying to keep the irritation out of his tone, "None of this looks familiar to me. I thought you said her place would be easy to find."

"It is." Dylan's lackadaisical response came from the other end. "I told you, just go north on North Beverly, then left on Laurel Way and then a quick right onto Chanruss Place. Even you should be able to find it."

Brandon scowled at his friend's mockery but decided not to make an issue of it. Dylan wasn't the one who was lost. "I don't get it. She's a teacher. How can she afford to live in a place like this?"

"She's renting from Rush Sanders while he's out of the country." Dylan explained, still sounding distracted. "Supposedly he offered it to Steve and Janet first, but they had just put a bid in for their house in Century City and besides, they wanted a bigger place."

"Well, they have what, twelve kids now?" Brandon joked, though even he knew Steve and Janet only had three and were expecting their fourth in February. "Just kidding. So, when you saw Kelly last night, how did she seem?"

"Fine until Val showed up."

"Valerie?" Brandon shook his head incredulously, though somehow he wasn't very surprised to learn she was back in town as well. When he had mentioned the homecoming game and how both he and Brenda were going to be in town for it, she had very strongly hinted she would like to go as well, but Brandon had pretended he had misunderstood.

"Yeah." Dylan chuckled. "She showed up at the Peach Pit while I was having dinner with Kelly, Silver and Sammy. Your sister was there too."

Brandon fell quiet; stifling the silly feeling of jealous that had begun to gnaw at him at Dylan's all too casual tone when he referred to Kelly. It was his own fault that Dylan had been the one to establish the friendly camaraderie with Kelly, Brandon knew, but he couldn't help it.

"You and Kelly…" Brandon began uneasily, wishing he could stop himself but needing to know the answer before he made an utter fool of himself. "You haven't since Sammy, have you?"

"What, slept together?" Dylan's tone sounded so amused that Brandon wanted to punch him. "We haven't slept together for over eight years."

"Eight years?" Brandon's doubt sounded in his tone. Sammy was only four. There was no way it had eight years since they had been together.

"Yeah. After David and Donna's wedding. I guess we were both feeling a bit romantic and nostalgic and thought we'd give it a go again. It obviously didn't work out – at all – but I have to admit, it was probably one of the better decisions I've ever made."

"How so?" Brandon found himself asking.

"Well, honestly, it finally got her out of my system. My life had been far simpler when Kelly and I first got together. In comparison to how my life became _after_ we broke up, that is. I had attached that feeling of peace and simplicity to my relationship with Kelly.

"The truth was, when Kel and I got back together, we were both completely miserable and remembered that we've _always_ been that way. We decided that it was far better for both of us if we just kept to being friends and its been great since."

"Who decided? You or her?" Brandon knew he shouldn't ask, but he couldn't help himself.

Dylan hesitated for several moments before responding. "Her. Of course. She's always the one who has been able to see things more clearly."

Brandon smiled a little at this, though he knew it was a small victory. He hoped that Kelly really was out of Dylan's system, though more important, Dylan was out of Kelly's. Then, suddenly remembering why Dylan's admission of not having slept with Kelly in eight years had stuck him funny, Brandon asked his long-time friend, "So what about Sammy?"

"What about Sammy?"

"When Bren and I came out to see him when he was a baby, you two were, well, pretty chummy. I assumed…"

"You assumed I was Sammy's father?" Dylan filled in for him.

"Well, yeah."

"Tell me, Brandon, does Sammy look anything like me? Anything at all?"

"I don't know." Brandon supplied weakly, feeling the fool all of the sudden. "I've only seen a few pictures of him and not for awhile. Are you telling me you're not Sammy's dad?"

Dylan chuckled, obviously enjoying this. "No. I'm not Sammy's father. Sometimes I wish I were… He's a terrific kid and Kelly deserves someone who will at least be around for him, but I'm not the dad."

"Who is then?" Brandon asked.

"Kyle Conners. You might not remember him, but he went to West Beverly. Graduated a year before us."

"Track and field guy, right?" Brandon well remembered the guy. He had been involved with the whole steroid scandal that Brandon had written about for the Blaze. Kyle was actually the one who had come forward and actually admitted to using the illegal enhancers.

"One and the same."

"I thought he was gay." Brandon frowned, trying to ignore the unreasonable feeling of jealousy he had when realized that someone who had used steroids and had been rumored to being gay had managed to get Kelly pregnant.

Dylan let out another long, hearty laugh and Brandon was forced to bite his tongue from letting into him. "No, Kyle is not gay. From what Kelly has told me, he was confused when he was in high school because girls didn't really turn him on. Guys didn't either. But apparently he's making up for lost time now."

"Ugh. And Kelly was with this creep?"

"Only for one night. May 20th. Does the date ring any bells for you?"

"Yeah." Brandon's throat constricted.

"It would have been your five-year anniversary." Dylan continued as if Brandon hadn't spoken. "Until Sammy came along she had this tradition of going down to a little bar she found called Broken Dreams and would get completely plastered. David would always go with her to make sure she didn't do anything too stupid, but that year I guess he and Donna were out of town. Steve was supposed to be there, but I guess there was some sort of emergency with Maddie and by the time he got there, Kelly had already hooked up with Kyle and was gone."

Brandon swallowed the hard lump that had formed in his throat as a wave of shame washed over him. He had seen Kelly about the same time, but she hadn't seemed upset. He should have known. "She did this every year?"

"Every year."

"How come no one ever mentioned it to me?"

"David and Donna were the only ones who knew." Dylan explained. "And she made them swear to secrecy. When David talked to Steve about being there for Kelly that year, David didn't really tell Steve why and Sanders didn't realize how important it was. Otherwise he would have sent someone else."

"I feel so bad."

"You should, man." Dylan was not about to let him off the hook. "Kelly was devastated. Actually, she still is. She's never really gotten over you."

Brandon nodded, frowning. "I've never really gotten over her either. Problem is, I don't know if we have too much past between us for us to actually have a successful future. I guess that's what I'm here to find out."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck, Bran." Dylan encouraged him, his tone sober. "Just don't make a complete fool of yourself like I did in front of your sister. I've got to run, man. Do you think you can find her place on her own now?"

"Already been found." Brandon quirked a smile, staring up at the luxurious home that must have cost Rush Sanders a small fortune. He had found the correct street midway through his conversation with Dylan, but did not want to interrupt the man. "I'll call you later. Maybe we can meet up and play some pool or something."

"Sounds good." Dylan chuckled, probably remembering that Brandon was absolutely horrible at pool.

Brandon waited until he heard Dylan hang up before he snapped his cell phone shut and pocketed it. He was extremely nervous about showing up on Kelly's doorstep completely unannounced, but he knew things would be even worse if he showed up at the dance the next night expecting to sweep her off her feet.

Summing all his courage, Brandon scooped up the bouquet of yellow and white roses he had picked out for Kelly. The woman at the florist counter had looked at him skeptically, offering him a large bouquet of long-stemmed red roses instead, but Brandon felt red roses would be a bit presumptuous. Brandon knew Kelly would see the symbolism behind the yellow and white roses and hopefully appreciate it.

As he made his way up the walkway, Brandon could not help but notice the beautifully maintained lawn and flowerbeds. Rush Sanders may have his name on the deed to the house, but everything Brandon laid eyes on screamed Kelly Taylor. Brandon couldn't help but wonder if his and Kelly's incomes combined might be enough to buy this house off from Rush, then shoved that notion aside. He was getting ahead of himself.

At the doorway, Brandon hesitated for half a moment to smooth down his shirt and make sure his drive with the top of his convertible down had not messed up his hair. Then he knocked firmly on the door three times, taking a step backward as he waited for the mistress of the house to come to the door.

"Yes?" A scruffy-looking, half-naked young man answered the door, staring at Brandon skeptically. "Can I help you?"

"Um… I think I must have the wrong house." Brandon began to back away as he stared at the young man, his mind reeling. Instinctively, he _knew_ he had to be at Kelly's house. The mailbox was embossed with the Taylor name. The flowers in the lawn were all among Kelly's favorites. The address number was the exact one Dylan had given him. And yet, seeing his man wearing only a pair of boxer shorts answer Kelly's door did _not_ belong.

"Hold on a sec." The man opened the door further, gesturing for him to step inside. "You're Brandon Walsh, right?" Then, after noting Brandon's confused expression, quickly added, "I've seen pictures. You haven't changed much since you were in high school."

Brandon frowned thoughtfully, coolly assessing the young man standing in Kelly's doorway. He was obviously young – probably his mid-twenties at the most. While that seemed a bit young for Kelly, he knew the man was defiantly too old for her younger sister. He did not strike Brandon as Kelly's type, however, and he was not willing to believe that Kelly was somehow involved with this man.

"Yeah, I'm Brandon Walsh. And you are?" Brandon inquired at last, reaching his hand out to the younger man.

"Ryan Matthews." An easy grin spread across Ryan's face as he shook Brandon's hand. "I'm a teacher at West Beverly and last year I actually sat in as advisor for the Blaze. That's where I saw your picture."

"Ah yes. The Blaze." Brandon forced a smile as he let out what he hoped did sound like too fake of a chuckle.

"So…" Ryan drawled out, watching Brandon with a guarded expression. "You here to see Kelly?"

Brandon nodded. "She here?"

"Nope." Ryan shook his head. "Kelly went in a bit early today. She had some stuff to take care of. But you can wait for her if you'd like. She told me she was going to be coming home for lunch. I expect her any time now."

Brandon gritted his teeth, ignoring the flash of irritation that washed over him at Ryan's words. Kelly was living with this Bohemian-esq loser? "I might just do that." Brandon took a step forward as Ryan stepped back inside the house to allow Brandon entrance. "Do you have something I can put these in?"

Ryan scratched his head. "I'm sure there's something around here someplace. Check the kitchen. I'm uh, I'm going to go get dressed." Ryan gestured in the direction of the kitchen as he headed towards the back of the house, allowing Brandon free reign.

Brandon was not surprised to find that Kelly still kept her vases below the kitchen sink and found one that was suitable for the large bouquet of roses. He quickly filled the vase with water and arranged the roses as artfully as possible. He knew Kelly would probably take them back out as soon as she had a chance and trim the stems so they would last longer, so he wasn't too worried about how great of a job he did.

Ryan was still not done getting dressed by the time Brandon had finished with the roses, and he suspected the teacher was probably taking a shower or at least trying to make himself appear decent before Kelly got home. Kelly had never been fond of people who just loafed around in their boxers all day long. Especially when they should be at work, or in Ryan's case, school.

Making the most of his time alone, Brandon wandered about the front rooms of the house, stopping at the fireplace where he thoughtfully studied the photographs that Kelly had lined up along the mantel. There was several pictures of Sammy as well as a few of Erin and two of the three of them together. There was also a cute picture of David and Donna with their posse of children, a shot of Kelly, David and Erin that looked to be about six or seven years old and one of the Sanders. Brandon grinned at the site of his namesake. Little Brandon was a spitting image of his father and Brandon secretly hoped the kid had Steve's personality as well.

Brandon was a little surprised when he came to the end of the mantel where Kelly had clustered three or four small photographs. One of the pictures was of their college graduation, Kelly posing on his arm for the camera, a brilliant smile on her gorgeous face. Next to that was a picture of he, Dylan, Brenda and Kelly at the Spring Dance. Kelly and Brenda had worn the exact same dress and though they had been upset at first, the girls had managed to make it work for the camera and one would almost thing they had planned it that way. The other photos were older as well, though Brandon was not in them.

"Ahem."

Brandon turned at the sound of Ryan clearing his throat. He had indeed showered, though had not bothered to shave and was wearing a pair of worn looking dark brown cords and a layer-looking redish colored polo shirt. Brandon knew the affect Ryan was going for, but he had never been overly fond of the scruffy, 'just rolled out of bed' look that was so popular with the younger guys these days. Perhaps Brandon was getting old.

"Hey." Brandon greeted him, not feeling in the least bit guilty for nosing about Kelly's house. He had not seen a single photograph of Ryan on the mantel or any of the end tables, which told Brandon one thing. Either this relationship was fairly recent or it wasn't very serious. Brandon was hoping it was both.

"So, you here for the homecoming thing?" Ryan attempted to strike up a conversation with Brandon as he took a seat in one of the chairs that looked incredibly comfortable and inviting.

"Yeah. That and other reasons. What time did you say Kelly should be back?" Brandon replied cryptically, sitting down in the equally comfortable couch. Kelly had a knack for finding extremely comfortable furniture that looked as amazing as it was to sit in. Brandon had never had such luck. Either it was comfortable and ugly or nice looking and you never wanted to sit in it.

"Her lunch hour starts at 12:15. She should be here in about ten minutes or so, I figure." Ryan explained. "Was she expecting you?"

"I called her and let her know I was going to be in town." Brandon explained, though he really didn't feel he had to explain anything to this oaf. "We always try and see each other whenever I'm in the area."

Ryan nodded, his expression thoughtful. "She and I are dating." He blurted out, his eyes watching Brandon's expression carefully. "Not for long, as you have probably guessed, but I really care about her and I know I can make her happy."

Brandon leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You think so, do you?" Brandon challenged him, though his tone was still civil. "You sure about that?"

"Of course I'm not sure." Ryan rose to his feet and began to pace back and forth. "You can never be sure in a relationship. But, as much as I can be, I am. I really, really care about her. I realize you two have a lot of history together, not to mention Sammy-"

"Sammy?" Brandon interrupted. "I'm not Sammy's father."

"You're not?" Ryan seemed surprised. "He looks just like you."

Brandon shook his head. "Not me, man."

"You sure?" Ryan stared at him skeptically, shooting a glance towards one of the end tables where a large picture of Sammy rested.

Brandon looked over, staring at the picture, a very unsettled feeling coming over him. Sammy was definitely Kelly's son, but there was something about the shape of the eyes, the curve of his lips, and the jaw line that looked eerily familiar. Give the boy darker hair and Brandon could be looking at a picture of himself thirty years ago.

"Um…" He trailed off, his palms growing sweaty. Dylan had told him that Kelly had spent the night with Kyle on what would have been their five-year-anniversary. He had been in town around then. He had seen Kelly. They had gone out to dinner, had a few drinks and went dancing. He knew he had a few too many drinks because otherwise Kelly would not have been able to convince him to go dancing. He remembered kissing her… Making out in the backseat of her car like a couple of high schoolers… Could it be…

The thought was left incomplete as boy men jumped to their feet at the sound of keys in the lock. The door swung open and Kelly stepped inside the house, her presence immediately filing the room. "Hey Ryan. I'm back and I brought Naomi…." She trailed off, her eyes finding Brandon, her face loosing all its color. "Brandon." She breathed out, then suddenly collapsed to the floor.

_Author's Notes:_

_Alright, so you guys are probably all leaping to all sorts of wild conclusions at this point. Go right ahead. You probably not going to be disappointed. Though I must say this… Originally, I really was going to have Kyle be the father. Really, I was… Anyway…_

_Most of you probably know, but here's what the colors of the roses Brandon bought for Kelly represent (source:_ _.)_

_**White – **__humility, loyalty, purity, sincerity, unity, silence, & innocent youthfulness. Some people believe white roses convey the message, "I am worthy of your love and devotion."_

_**Yellow – **__symbolizes friendship, the beginning of something anew or starting something over again (as in giving a relationship a second chance)_

_As always, please, please, please leave feedback. I adore it and live for it. Cheers!_


	11. Chapter 11

_Author's Notes:_

_Hey everyone! Finally a new part. Sorry I've not been posting so much. I've been pretty busy. Holidays, work, all that fun stuff. But I'm trying to get as much written as possible. So read and review. It will give me incentive to write more. :)_

**Part 11**

"Alright, guys! That's a wrap. Adrianna, Ty, I need you two to be running some lines this weekend. I'm just not feeling your chemistry." Brenda announced to the high schoolers scattered about on the stage of West Beverly's auditorium. The auditorium had been built in 1995 – just two short years after Brenda had graduated. She wished that it, as well as a half-way decent drama department, had been in existence during her tenure at West Beverly.

"Thanks for all your help with this, Ms. Walsh." Annie Wilson approached Brenda, a cheerful smile on her young face. "I love my grandma and all, and even though she has years of experience in the movies, you have a real sense for theater. You've really brought something to this production, Ms. Walsh."

"Why, thank you Annie." Brenda smiled down at the teen. Despite occasionally being irritated by Annie's always upbeat attitude, Brenda had come to like the principal's daughter and almost wished it was Wilson that was cast as the lead rather than Adrianna. She had overheard Annie running lines with Ty after school one day and had been amazed at how well the two played off one another.

"Ms. Walsh?" A student whom Brenda did not recognize approached her.

"Yes?" She smiled warmly at the girl. "What can I do for you?"

"You have a visitor at the school office." The girl dutifully informed her, her face completely emotionless.

"A visitor?" Brenda echoed, but it was clear the girl knew nothing more that she had already told her. She turned back to say goodbye to Annie, but the girl had already wandered off and was following Ty around like a lost puppy dog. She suppressed a shudder, wondering if she had ever been that obviously head-over-heels for Dylan.

Brenda waited until the bell rang signaling the end of class and the beginning of lunch for all the students at West Beverly before heading out of the auditorium, making her way down the now-crowded corridors of West Beverly in the direction of the school office. Even though none of the faces were the same and the conversations that flowed around her were vastly different than the ones that took place during her high school years, she still expected to see Andrea or Steve rounding the corner any minute, hurrying off the class.

The sentimental smile that was plastered on Brenda's face as she pushed open the office door faded immediately when her eyes landed on the individual standing in the waiting area, his back turned to her, his hands shoved deep into his pockets in a stance that Brenda was all too familiar with.

"Dylan." She breathed out his name, wishing her heart was not beating so wildly at the sight of him.

Dylan turned, a laid-back smile on his face. "Hey, Bren."

"What are you doing here?" She tried not to sound too irritated as she asked the question.

"Taking you to lunch. I know you have your free period next. That gives us an hour and a half."

"I already have plans." Brenda told him lamely, thinking of her brown bagged lunch waiting for her in the faculty lounge refrigerator.

"Aw, come on, Bren. I know you don't have any plans other than with Oscar Meyer." He grinned. "Have lunch with me. Please?"

Brenda hesitated, then noticing that both of the female high school office assistants were hanging on every word that was exchanged, quickly made up her mind. Apparently, even though he was at least fifteen years their senior, they were not immune to the charms of one Dylan McKay.

"Alright." She consented at last. "Let me grab my purse. You can come with me if you'd like."

Dylan nodded, then followed Brenda behind the counter and out the faculty entrance to the office. She led him down the halls, noticing that he seemed to be affected by the same nostalgia that always got to her.

"It's changed a lot, hasn't it?" Brenda commented when they were about halfway to the lounge. "The school, that is."

"Yeah, it has. And yet, everything still feels eerily the same." Dylan agreed with her. A strange smile spread across his lips as they passed a group of lockers. "That's your old locker, isn't it?"

Brenda nodded, unexplainably happy that he still remembered. "Yeah, it is. The combination is different, though. I couldn't resist trying. Some blonde cheerleader type has the locker now. I watched her once while she was opening it up. Does that make me weird?"

Dylan shook his head. "Naw. I would do the same. I wonder…" He trailed off.

Brenda, as if reading his mind, quickly filled in the details for him. "Some emo kid has your locker. A guy named Navid has Kelly's. Donna's and Andrea's lockers were removed when they built the extra restrooms. Some girl that Steve would no-doubt have been drooling over fifteen years ago has his locker. I haven't seen who has David's locker. And Brandon, well, in the weirdest twist of fate, Erin Silver has Brandon's."

"Are you serious?"

Brenda nodded, chuckling. "I thought it was quite funny. I pointed it out to Kelly, but she already knew."

"I'm sure she did." Dylan stated knowingly.

Brenda frowned, studying her ex-boyfriend thoughtfully. There had been a time where she believed he would never truly be able to make up his mind between her and Kelly. Even though he denied any feelings for the blonde while they were in London, Brenda had always suspected that if Kelly had been available when Toni had died, Dylan would have run to her instead. Her insecurity in their relationship had been part of what had doomed it.

"What?" Dylan asked her, his expression puzzled.

Her cheeks flushing with color, Brenda quickly ducked her head, not willing to discuss her train of thought with him at that moment. "Here we are. Let me get my key." She quickly fished inside her pocket and pulled out her keys, unlocking the door to let them inside. "They've 'upped' security a bit since Steve was here. Perhaps they learned their lesson."

"Steve never broke into the faculty lounge." Brenda pointed out. "Girls locker room. Computer lab. School. Yeah. He broke into all of those. Just not the faculty lounge."

"Probably realized there wouldn't be anything interesting in here." Dylan grinned as they pushed open the door.

Brenda quickly retrieved her purse from her locker, saddened that even in the faculty lounge they had to keep their personal belongings under lock and key. Out of habit, she fished out her cell phone, frowning when she saw that she had three missed calls from Ryan Matthews.

"That's funny." Brenda murmured aloud, wondering why on earth Kelly's boyfriend would be calling her. They had only had a handful of conversations – and each of them had been Ryan trying to get more information about Kelly out of Brenda. She had never felt very comfortable around the English teacher and after Silver's revelation the night before, she finally understood some of that discomfort.

"What's funny?" Dylan inquired from where he was studying old class photos that were hanging on the walls of the lounge. "This picture of Steve and Kelly freshman year?"

Brenda walked over to see what picture Dylan was talking about. She had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. The two blondes were dresses so horribly it could only be 1991. Kelly was wearing some sort of neon, three-tier sun dress that reflected against her skin and Steve was wearing a light pink polo shirt with the collar popped like he was a cast member of Miami Vice or something.

"Oh my. That's truly awful. I can't believe Kelly lets them keep that up there." Brenda shook her head, chuckling. "I'm sure she's seen it."

"Probably." Dylan agreed, then looked over at her, a strange expression in his eyes. "Have you ever looked at these pictures?"

Brenda shook her head. She usually was running late in the mornings and dropped off her purse quickly. Then, by the end of the day, she was so ready to get out of there that she barely glanced at the walls. "No. Why?"

"Because there's a picture of you up here. Us, really."

"Us?" Brenda felt her throat constrict a little.

"Senior prom." He gestured towards a frame that held another montage of photographs.

"But we didn't go to prom together."

"We danced, though." Dylan murmured softly.

Almost against her will, Brenda felt herself drawn to the picture Dylan indicated. A part of her yearning to reflect on their lost love when it was so fresh and another part of her never wanting to be reminded of that horrible night when Tony Miller actually thought she would sleep with him.

She stared at the picture, trying to ignore how terrible her dress was and how huge her hair was. Her eyes were drawn to her seventeen-year-old face staring up at a young Dylan McKay's in total and complete adoration. Dylan's expression was equally as intense. In the background of the photograph, Kelly was dancing with Steve, the two blondes laughing about something, completely oblivious to the couple dancing only a few yards away.

"You looked so beautiful that night, Brenda." Dylan commented thoughtfully.

"Now I know you're lying." Brenda forced out a laugh in a desperate attempt to break the spell that had fallen between them. "Look at that dress. Look at my hair. What was I thinking?"

"It was 1993." Dylan grinned. "We thought we were so cool."

"I just wish someone had held up a mirror for me while I was doing my hair." Brenda shook her head ruefully. "I'm sure at least Cindy knew how silly I looked."

"Are you kidding? You have seen pictures of your parents in the seventies, right? Compared to them, you looked perfectly normally." Dylan joked as he took a casual step closer to Brenda, acting as if she wouldn't notice.

"Says the guy who was born in 1975." Brenda forced herself to keep the moment light, trying hard not to focus on how close Dylan was standing next to her. It had been so long… Her body ached for him, but she knew her heart could not withstand being broken again.

"I miss those days." Dylan commented with a weary sigh. "I know when we were in them, high school felt like the most complicated thing in the word, but in comparison to things we have to deal with now, we were on easy street."

"Oh, I don't know. Your life seems to be fairly easy." Brenda pointed out. "Living at the Bel Age Hotel one week, flying to Paris the next. Then its off to Madrid, Tuscany, Tokyo… You've become a real globe trotter, haven't you?"

"I suppose you could say that." He shrugged her words off nonchalantly.

"Tell me, Dylan." She turned to face him, knowing that by doing so she had positioned herself less than a foot away from him. "In all your travels, did you find what you were looking for?"

Dylan stared down at her, his eyes mirroring depths of emotions that Brenda knew she would drown in if she allowed herself to. "I wasn't looking for anything, Bren." His whisper was so hoarse, so raw with emotion that it nearly broke Brenda's heart. "I was running."

"What were you running from?"

"You." He had placed his hands gently on her shoulders, causing shivers to race up and down her spine as her stomach felt like it had swallowed an entire colony of butterflies. "Us. The way I feel for you. The way it destroys me when I know I can't be with you. I love you Brenda Walsh. I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else. God knows I've tried to forget you. Forget what we discovered when we were just kids, but I can't. You're the one for me, Bren. The _only_ one."

Brenda felt her heart rise in her throat, choking off her words. She knew tears were streaming down her cheeks as she stared at this man she knew she was utterly and hopelessly in love with, but she could not give voice to the words. "Dyl-" She began, then was cut off by the irritating chirping noise of her cell phone.

She made a move to answer it, but Dylan grabbed her hand, stopping her. "Don't. Don't run for this. From us."

Brenda tore her eyes away from his gaze, trembling from his nearness, his touch. "I can't do this right now, Dylan. I can't."

She lifted her cell phone eyelevel, seeing that it was Ryan once again, but not caring that she really didn't want to talk to him. She needed an excuse to get away from Dylan. She cleared her throat and answered. "This is Brenda."

"Brenda! It's me, Ryan." Ryan sounded excited.

"I know it's you, Ryan." Brenda was tempted to roll her eyes, but she refrained. "What do you need?"

"It's Kelly. Something's wrong."

"Kelly?" Brenda's eyes widened, alarm bells going off. She knew Kelly was planning on heading home around lunch to talk to Ryan. If he had done anything to hurt her… "What happened?"

"I don't know. She collapsed and she's not waking up."

Tears sprang to her eyes once again as the thought of loosing Kelly once again after she had just barely renewed her friendship with her. "Wh-what do you mean, she's not waking up?"

Dylan had come to her side now, his arm wrapped around her as he leaned his head close to the phone in an obvious attempt to hear Ryan's side of the conversation. Brenda tilted the phone so he could have better vantage.

"She walked in the door, saw some strange guy who had come to see her and then she collapsed."

"Brandon?" Dylan suggested. "He was on his way to see Kelly this morning."

"Was it my brother, Brandon?" Brenda demanded.

"Uh, yeah. It's some guy named Brandon. He's your brother?"

"Of course it's my brother!" Brenda felt herself getting close to hysterics.

Always the one with the cooler head in these circumstances, Dylan took the phone from Brenda's hand. "Hello Ryan. This is Dylan McKay. Tell me exactly what is going on."

"Um, okay." Brenda could barely hear Ryan's voice as she pressed her face against Dylan's chest, allowing the tears to fall. "She walked in the door, saw Brandon and then collapsed."

"Have you called an ambulance?"

"Yeah. They'll be here soon." Ryan affirmed. "I just wanted someone Kelly knew to be at the hospital and Brenda's the only number I have."

"You think it's bad enough that they'll take her to the hospital?"

Ryan hesitated for a long moment before he answered. "Yeah. She hit her head really hard. There was blood everywhere." Ryan's voice was tight and strained.

"Alright." Dylan affirmed. "Brenda and I will meet you at the hospital. Brandon will want to ride in the ambulance with Kelly. I'd suggest you don't make an issue of it."

Brenda did not hear Ryan's response as Dylan snapped the phone shut, though she had a hunch that Ryan just might do exactly as Dylan advised him not to. Ryan struck her as the sort that was always posturing himself, trying to put himself into a better position than he was.

"Let's go, Bren." Dylan guided her out the door. "We'll take my car and you can call the school from there."

Brenda bit down on her lower lip, drawing blood in the process. She closed her eyes, trusting Dylan to guide her out of the school and into his car, praying the entire time that somehow Kelly would be alright. That blood being everywhere did not mean anything. Kelly would be okay.

_Author's Notes:_

_So this story has taken a bit of a soapy twist. You guys won't realize it quite until next chapter, but trust me, it has. I've decided to just have fun with this story. Anyway… I'm going to be working on Summer Lovin' next and then if I go in order, Error Proof. Then its back to this one. Though I do have most of part 12 done and if I get enough feedback I might just be tempted to finish it early… Hint, hint, hint…_

_Cheers,_

_Jianna_


	12. Chapter 12

_Author's Notes:_

_Well, lookie here. I managed to update all three of my stories in one day. Aren't you guys proud of me? I actually was feeling quite inspired with this chapter – which I was totally shocked by. I had been putting it off for last because I figured I was going to get stumped with it again. But surprisingly, it flowed much better than Summer Lovin' or Error Proof did. So anyway… Please read and review. I'll have the next part up soon. As long as you do that latter thing called REVIEW. ___

_Cheers,_

_Jianna_

**Part Twelve**

A weary sigh escaped Brandon's lips as he gazed vacantly down at the pale young woman resting in a far too deep slumber, her skin barely a shade or two pinker than the starched hospital linens she was laying on. Her golden blonde hair – just about the only color apparent in the room – was splayed out against the pillow almost like a halo marking her sainthood.

Brandon was beginning to wonder just how many times he had been at Kelly's hospital bedside, hoping and praying that she was alright. The first time had been at her eighteenth birthday party when she had accidentally overdosed on diet pills. They had not been together at the time, but Brandon could well recall the intense feeling of worry that she would not fully recover. He had wanted to linger at her bedside at that point, but it was Dylan she was seeing at the time and he had won that honor.

Later, when she was a sophomore at California University she had been admitted to the burn unit after being in a terrible fire. They were actually dating quite seriously at that point in time, but Kelly had not allowed him to see her but once or twice. She had been terrified that once he saw her scars he would want nothing to do with her. Unfortunately, rather than insisting he remain at her bedside, he had complied to her wishes and had nearly destroyed their relationship in the process.

Barely a year later, after they had broken up, Kelly found herself in the hospital again, though this time it was her own stupid decisions that landed her there. After they had split she had become involved with an artist named Colin. Colin had been addicted to cocaine and he had brought Kelly down with him. Fortunately, Kelly had managed to cry for help before it was too late and with the assistance of her mother, they had gotten Kelly admitted to an excellent rehabilitation program at Cedar Sinai Hospital.

Kelly actually managed to stay out of the hospital for a couple of years after that until she and Brandon – back together again – had arrived back in Los Angeles after a vacation in Hawaii. She had been laid up in the hospital for several long weeks, suffering from amnesia from the loss of blood as she slowly recovered from her gunshot wound. It had been a particularly trying time in their relationship, but Brandon had learned his lesson the last time and had remained close by her side the entire time – no matter how much she tried to push him away.

The most recent time before this that Brandon had visited Kelly in the hospital had technically been a 'joyous occasion,' especially in comparison to the previous four. He had dragged a quite unwilling Brenda to the hospital to visit Kelly after the birth of her son, Samuel James Taylor. Both he and Brenda had assumed that since it was Dylan who had called the gang to announce the birth, that he was the father. Brenda had not wanted to go to the hospital at all, but Brandon had dragged her along for moral support.

Just the thought that Dylan had a son with Kelly had devastated his sister. Brandon had managed to keep it together a bit more than her, but he could still recall the sharp pang of jealousy he had felt as he admired the squirming pink bundle snuggled in the crook of Kelly's arm. It killed him that Dylan had been able to give Kelly the one thing he had so miserably failed in.

It had grated on Brandon's nerves even more than Dylan had not seemed the least bit excited about the birth of Sammy. He had sat in the corner of the hospital room, deeply engrossed in the poetry book he was reading. He had barely acknowledged Brandon and Brenda's presence, which had only served to further Brenda's pain.

Looking back on it now, Brandon realized Dylan had not acted the part of the proud father because he _wasn't_ Sammy's father. In fact, Brandon was almost positive Sammy was his own son. Having to figure this out on his own was like a slap in the face. Brandon wanted to yell at Kelly. He wanted to shake her, demand to know why she had kept the truth from him all these years. He was dying to see his son. But most importantly, Brandon desperately wanted Kelly to wake up.

"Still no change?" Erin Silver, Kelly's younger sister, had slipped noiselessly inside the room, her dark brown hair hanging down over her shoulders like a silken curtain. She definitely took after her sister in the looks department, though from the little Brandon knew of the girl who called herself Silver, she had a far more level-head than Kelly had at even twice the younger girl's age.

Brandon shook his head, gesturing towards one of the supposedly comfortable hospital chairs that had been drawn up alongside Kelly's hospital bed. After sitting in one of them for nearly thirty-six hours Brandon was beginning to realize just how uncomfortable they really were.

"Any doctors come by lately?" Silver studied him with wide blue eyes, the stress of the past day and a half clearly evident on her face.

"Kel's doctor was by earlier. Had the nurse take some vitals. Same story, though. They can't figure out why she won't wake up. The doctor said the head injury wasn't _that_ bad. It shouldn't have sent her into a coma." Brandon explained, thankful to be able to talk to someone who was actually awake and responsive. He wasn't sure how much longer he'd remain sane just carrying on a one-sided conversation with the unresponsive Kelly.

Silver bit down on her lower lip in a gesture that was painfully familiar to Brandon. Silver and Kelly shared quite a few of the same mannerisms and Brandon was constantly finding that Silver reminded him of Kelly when he first met her. "Jackie's beside herself with worry. She calls me just about every other hour. I told her if she cared so much she'd come by the hospital, but she keeps saying she can't."

"She can't?" Brandon furrowed his brow. That was completely unlike Jackie. Ever since he had known the eldest Taylor woman, Jackie had been a bit neurotic when it came to her daughters.

"She's probably too drunk to pick herself up off the floor." Silver grumbled angrily.

"Jackie's drinking again?" The news hit Brandon hard. Kelly had not mentioned that her mother had fallen off the wagon during any of the times they had talked, though he supposed it wasn't exactly the sort of thing that would come up during a casual conversation.

"You kidding me?" Silver snorted. "Jackie hasn't let go of the bottle since she and Mel split up. Again. Those two. Why can't they just get it together?" Silver rolled her eyes as she plopped herself down into one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs. She drew up her knees up onto the chair and hugged them tightly against her chest, her eyes gazing steadily forward at nothing in particular.

"I don't know." Brandon emphasized with the younger girl. "There's a lot of painful history between your mom and dad."

"Yeah, but they still love each other." Silver frowned. "I don't understand why two people who are so in love with each other will purposely choose to stay away from each other like that? Not only do they make each other miserable, but everyone around them too."

"It's complicated."

"No it's not." Silver shook her head emphatically. "Love is simple. It's not complicated like everyone likes to make it. You love someone, you tell them. If they love you back, good. If they don't, then get over it. Simple."

"But you can't always just tell someone that you love them." Brandon found himself arguing with her.

"Yes you can. If you have the courage. But anything worth having is worth risking it all for, right?" She ran her fingers through her hair, causing it to spill against her back in a raven wave of silk.

"But there's sometimes things that that the other person has done that just aren't forgivable. Take your dad for example. He cheated on your poor mother countless times. Do you think Jackie should just keep forgiving him?"

"If she loves him, yes." Silver returned icily. "When you love somebody, and I mean really and truly love somebody, you're not just picking bits and pieces that you love about them. You love the whole person. Otherwise its not love. Yeah, they screw up. Dixon screws up all the time. Says stupid things. Sometimes really stupid things. But I love him anyway because that's part of what makes him Dixon."

"You're in high school, Silver. You can't really understand."

"I understand more than you think I do." She countered, shifting her piercing blue gaze over to him.

Brandon found himself staggering under her intense gaze. "Um, no. No you don't." He stammered, trying to tear his eyes away.

"Yes. I do." She began, rising to her feet. "I understand that you're not talking about Mel and Jackie. I understand that you're talking about you and Kelly. I understand that you're not talking about my dad's countless affairs. I understand that you're talking about the fact that Kelly never told you that you were Sammy's father."

Brandon stumbled back, leaning against the wall. Kelly had _never_ been this intense. "How do you know that?"

"Know what? That you're Sammy's father or that it's yours and Kelly's relationship that you've been dancing around for the past ten minutes?" She shot him a sharp smile. "To answer the latter, it's completely obvious. You're not very subtle. And the former – well, that's obvious too. The instant I laid eyes on you I saw Sammy there. Plus, it would explain why your parents always come and visit Kelly around Sammy's birthday and bring mountains of presents."

"What?" Brandon's eyes widened. "My parents know?"

Silver shrugged. "I assume so. Most people wouldn't buy presents for their son's ex- fiancée's son, now would they?"

Brandon shook his head, his mind reeling with the information. Jim and Cindy knew he was a father and they hadn't told him. He desperately tried to recall every last conversation he had with his parents over the past several years, trying to remember any sort of indication that they had known he was a father, but coming up with a complete blank. In fact, Cindy always kept harassing him about settling down and giving them grandchildren. Sure, she frequently brought up Kelly, but she had never mentioned that Sammy could be his son.

"Look, I can see I've given you a lot to think about." Silver shot him a sympathetic smile. "I need to get going. I promised David and Donna I'd stop by after I came to see Kelly. Donna was saying Sammy's having a really hard time. He doesn't understand, you see. Kelly's never left him before. Not even overnight."

"Really?" Brandon felt his heart go out to the little boy he now knew was his son.

"She's a great mom. So despite what wrong you think she's done you, remember that." Silver told him smoothly. "And before you jump to any horrible conclusions about her, give her a chance to explain. I'm sure you'll be thankful that you did."

"You think so?" Brandon was still skeptical. He couldn't think of a single good reason Kelly could have for not telling him that Sammy was his son.

"Honestly, I don't know. Kelly's never mentioned it. She actually thought I'd believe that Kyle was Sammy's father, but anyone who has ever had a conversation with Kyle Conner knows he's gay." Silver chuckled, then sobered at Brandon's serious expression. "But seriously. Give her a chance to explain. Please."

Brandon found himself nodding as Silver silently slipped out of the room, leaving him alone with Kelly Taylor once again. He glanced down at her still face, his heart aching to talk to her. The doctors had told him she could hear ever word he said and was aware that he was there, but he could not bring himself to talk to her. At least not about the important stuff.

"Oh Kel." He murmured softly, reaching down and taking her hand in his. He closed his eyes, praying that she'd somehow wake up and be able to explain everything away. "I know your sister's right. I know you have to have had your reasons for not telling me about Sammy. It just hurts. It hurts more than you probably realize. I always dreamed about having children with you. A houseful. Remember? Knowing that I missed out so much on Sammy's life… It kills me. I would have been there, if you had told me. Nothing could have kept me away. Nothing at all."

"Nothing?"

Brandon's eyes flew open, though he knew the voice had not been Kelly's. "Dylan." He breathed out the name of his long-time friend and nemesis. "Hey. I didn't hear you come in."

"Obviously." Dylan gave a small, crooked smile. "I heard you, though."

"You heard?" Brandon echoed dumbly. "Did you know?"

"That you were Sammy's dad?" Dylan shook his head. "Naw. Kel never told me. Though I did suspect it from time to time. Especially when Jim and Cindy would come visit."

"So they really did come." Brandon found renewed sense of anger begin to build up inside him – though it was no longer directed at the unconscious blonde in the hospital bed.

"Of course. You think your mom would miss her first grandchild?"

"No. Of course not. It just would have been nice if she had cared to impart that knowledge on me." Brandon stated bitterly. "I can't believe they knew and wouldn't tell me."

"I'm sure Kelly made them promise not to say." Dylan explained.

"But why? Why wouldn't she tell me, Dylan? You were there. She could have told me then."

"I don't know, bro. That's something you're going to have to bring up with her yourself. Though right now is obviously the wrong time to do so." Dylan smirked. "She can't really answer back."

"I know." Brandon let out a sigh as he collapsed into one of the chairs. "So, what brings you by?"

"I'm supposed to be meeting Bren here in a little bit. She, uh, well, she doesn't like being here alone with Kelly." Dylan explained, suddenly nervous.

"She had to know I would have been here."

"Well, that's part of it. You need to go home, Brandon." Dylan stated a bit forcefully.

"What do you mean? I can't leave her like this. What if she wakes up?" Brandon protested.

"You haven't slept. You haven't showered. You probably haven't even eaten. Brenda said the last time she was here you were starting to get a bit delusional. Somehow, she thinks I'll be able to convince you to go back to your hotel room and take a shower and get some rest."

"When did you and Brenda become so chummy?" Brandon grumbled, well recalling Brenda's last visit. It had been right before Brandon had caught his second or third wind. He couldn't quite recall which. But he had been going through one of his 'anger phases' and had pointedly told Brenda he was furious with Kelly. Of course he hadn't mentioned why. Maybe if he had, Brenda would have been a bit more understanding.

"You need to go, Brandon." Dylan insisted. "Brenda will be here in a few minutes and honestly, well, honestly, I need a few minutes alone with Kelly."

Brandon ignored the pang of jealousy as he nodded. "Alright. I'll go to my hotel room and get some rest. But I'll be back."

"Oh, I realize that." Dylan chuckled, then glanced down at Kelly, his gaze almost tender. "You wouldn't be Brandon Walsh if you didn't come back."

"Are things really over between you two?" Brandon found himself asking, though he almost immediately regretted it.

"Yeah." Dylan looked up, meeting Brandon's gaze. "Things are really over between Kelly and I. She's all yours, Bran. Just don't blow it this time, alright? It's probably your last chance."

Brandon nodded, sensing that Dylan was right. "Later." He murmured, giving Dylan a quick wave before turning and heading out the door. He glanced over his shoulder, noticing that Dylan had dropped to his knees at Kelly's beside, his head bowed and his lips moving in silent prayer. Brandon could only hope that Dylan's prayers would be heard because it certainly seemed like his had not.

_Author's Notes:_

_So, what'd you guys think? Now, I'm sure some of you are wondering what happened to Ryan. Well, I'll deal with him later. Don't worry. He's not being written out. He'll still show up to cause conflict. That I promise you. Also, I am going to have some more Brenda/Dylan moments coming soon. Next chapter, though, is going to be a Kelly-centered chapter as she's going to wake up. :) And don't worry – drama will ensue. _

_Anyway… Please review. It makes me write faster. And, in case I don't get a chance to update before the holidays – MERRY CHRISTMAS! You guys are the greatest set of readers a writer could ask for._

_Cheers,_

_Jianna_


	13. Chapter 13

_Author's Notes:_

_Hey everyone! So sorry about the long delay in getting this story updated. I was focusing all my attention on finishing up The Error Proof Test. Some of you, I'm sure, are probably still pretty steamed at me about that. All I can say is sorry. I really do know what I'm doing and I ask that you have faith in me as far as that goes. That, and I can promise you that NOTHING tragic is going to happen to Brenda (or Dylan!) in this story. _

_Anyway… This part was actually pretty tough for me to write. I kept putting it off for about three chapters. But that's mostly because I hate writing people "waking up" so to speak. You'll see what I mean. _

_Cheers,_

_Jianna_

**Part Thirteen**

A low groan escaped Kelly's lips as she slowly opened her eyes, blinking several times, allowing them adjust to the sterile brightness that surrounded her. She could tell even before her eyes had opened that she was in a hospital. Hospitals had a distinctive smell to them, a smell that Kelly had never really cared for and somehow had always managed to make her feel worse rather than better.

Gingerly, Kelly shifted into an upright position, glancing around her room as she attempted to ignore the throbbing headache that was beginning to develop at the base of her skull. She couldn't remember what had happened, but she figured she must have hit her head somehow and obviously it had been bad enough to land her in the hospital yet again.

Kelly was a little surprised to discover she was completely alone in her hospital room. There were two hideously upholstered hospital chairs pulled up alongside the bed, a small handbag resting beneath one of them. Obviously someone was around someplace, just not here.

"Hello?" She croaked out, startled to find her voice was rusty with disuse. Suddenly, she was incredibly thirsty. She glanced down, pleased to find that there was a nurse's call button on her bedrail. She quickly pressed the button, hoping that she hadn't woken up between shifts. It always took nurses twice as long to see to a patient during the changing of the guards, so to speak.

"Yes?" A woman announced abruptly on the other end of the speaker.

"Hello." Kelly whispered back, doubting the woman could hear her but not having enough moisture in her mouth to speak any louder. "Water, please."

"Hello?" The woman grumbled again, waiting only half a second before addressing someone else obviously at the nurses' station. "It must be that dumb kid again hitting buttons. Why can't she get it through her thick skull that every groan doesn't mean her sister is waking up?"

'Sister?' Kelly furrowed her brow. Was the nurse referring to Erin? Why would she be at the hospital with her? Erin should be at school. Kelly depressed the button again, hoping the nurse would not be so dismissive this time.

"Hello?" The woman sounded even more irritable this time.

Kelly cleared her throat, trying to ignore the fact that it was really somewhat painful to do so. "Water." She croaked out as loudly as possible, determined the grumpy woman would actually hear her this time. "Water, please!"

The nurse made no response, but seconds later a middle-aged woman had entered her room, a concerned expression lining her homely face. "Miss Taylor?" From the tone of her voice, Kelly could tell immediately that this was not the nurse manning the speaker phones to the patients' rooms.

Kelly, unable to squeak out another word, only nodded, trying to prove to the nurse that she was conscious and she needed water as quickly as possible. She touched her throat with her hand, staring at the woman with pleading eyes.

A joyous smile broke out across the nurse's face and suddenly she didn't seem nearly as plain-looking. "Your sister is going to be so happy! So is that young man who has been sitting with you just about every day. You hang tight, dear. I'm going to page a doctor and I'll bring you water in just a moment."

Kelly acknowledged the woman's statement with a smile and a nod, a warm feeling spreading throughout her. She must have been referring to Brandon. It was so like him to stay at her bedside in her time of need. Despite her common sense telling her that her ring would not be there, Kelly glanced down at her left hand. Her ring finger was vacant and she prayed Brandon had the foresight to tuck the ring away in a safe place while she recovered.

A dreamy smile played across Kelly's lips as she thought about the man she would someday soon be calling her husband. Their relationship had traveled a very long and twisted path, but she was thankful that in the end she had ended back with Brandon. Despite her flirtations with Dylan, Colin, and even Mark, Brandon had always been the only one for her.

"Kelly!" A raven-haired young woman burst into the room, her blue eyes wide with excitement and astonishment. "Kelly! You're awake!"

"Calm down, Silver." The not-so-plain nurse followed the young woman into the room, chiding her gently. "She just woke up. She hasn't even seen a doctor yet and I need to check her vitals. I shouldn't even be letting you in here."

The girl named Silver grinned appreciatively towards the nurse who was now pouring a glass of ice water for Kelly. "I'll help her with that, Cammie." Silver told her, taking the cup before the nurse had a chance to protest. "And I really appreciate you letting me know she had woken up. Damn. I wish Brandon was here." Then, pausing meaningfully, she stared down at Kelly, "He's been here every day, Kel. Nearly all day long too. He just left about ten minutes ago to bring us back some food."

Kelly took a long sip of the icy water, enjoying the cooling sensation of the liquid on her burning throat. Rather than deal with the confusing thoughts and fuzzy memories Kelly had connected with this woman who was addressing her so familiarly, Kelly took another swig before setting her cup on the tray that Cammie had wheeled alongside her, almost as if she read the blonde's mind.

"Thank you." Kelly whispered with a grateful smile. Cammie only nodded as she busied herself taking Kelly's vitals – wrapping a cuff around Kelly's arm so she could take the younger woman's blood pressure.

Kelly shifted her attention back towards the girl named Silver, studying her thoughtfully. Realization suddenly dawned on her and she felt her cheeks flush with color. "Erin?" She stated the name of her baby sister – who was obviously not a baby any longer.

Erin Silver frowned, moving closer to Kelly's beside, a worried expression on her face. "Kelly? Are you feeling alright?"

Hesitating before answering, Kelly nodded slowly. She _did_ feel physically fine. She was just suddenly overwhelmed with an onslaught of confusing memories and images flashing brightly before her eyes. "Yeah. I'm just tired, I think."

"Tired? You've been sleeping for days now!" Silver exclaimed, shaking her head. "Though I guess being in a coma isn't technically sleeping. Cammie here was telling me that you were probably aware of everything that was happening around you. Is that true? I've been dying to ask since she told me."

Kelly furrowed her brow, trying to recall if she did remember the conversations flowing around her as she lay blissfully asleep on the hospital bed. Unfortunately, everything was still too muddled for her to make any sense of it and she couldn't answer her young sister's question directly. "I'm not sure." She admitted at last, letting out a weary sigh. "You're so beautiful, Erin. Somehow I hadn't realized that until now."

Silver rolled her eyes. "Please, Kel, I know you've been out of it for a few days, but you still know better than to call me Erin." She suppressed a small shudder. "It reminds me of that man."

"That man?" Kelly echoed, feeling completely lost.

"You know, Mel." Silver made a face. "He used to always call me his Erin-Bear. 'Don't tell your Mommy, Erin Bear, but Daddy has to go out for a little while.'" She mocked Kelly's step-father's voice, a disgusted expression on her face. "Then he'd go out and mess around with his latest tennis instructor or dental assistant. Besides, Silver sounds so much cooler, don't you think? Much better than Daphne." Again, she made a face.

Kelly chuckled, well recalling her own reaction had been very similar when Jackie had told her they were giving her baby sister the middle name Daphne. Jackie had wanted to name Erin after her twin sister who had been diagnosed with leukemia when she was nine-years-old. Kelly had never met her Aunt Daphne as she had passed away just a year before Kelly was born, but Jackie had always told Kelly stories of the beautiful and courageous young woman. But still… Kelly had always thought it was a wretched name.

Abruptly changing the subject, Silver took a seat on the foot of Kelly's bed, studying her older sister with a worried expression. "Kelly, Brandon knows."

"Brandon knows?" She echoed once again, her mind desperately trying to keep up with her little sister. "He knows what?"

A strange look flickered across Silver's face. "You know, he _knows_." She put special emphasis on the word.

"Silver, you're not making any sense." Kelly chuckled at her sister's strangeness. "Or maybe _I'm_ the one who's confused. I am the one with the head injury after all."

"Yeah, well, maybe." Silver was frowning, obviously puzzled about something. Then, shrugging her shoulders, her mood changed abruptly. "Look, I know some doctor is going to be poking his nose around here in a few minutes and I really don't want to be around for that. Doctors still really creep me out. Mind if I duck out? I'm, uh, actually not really all that sure when I'll be back, though. I need to pick someone up from the airport."

"Of course not. Go right ahead." Kelly assured her with a smile. "Please do not let this," She gestured to herself lying in the hospital bed with a sweep of her hand, "Keep you from living your life."

"Thanks, Kel. You always understand." Silver grinned. "You're the best older sis a girl could ever ask for."

"No, thank you, Silver." Kelly told her, struggling to remember to referring to her as her last name rather than Erin. "You're one in a million."

"Oh, more like one in a billion." Silver grinned as she rose to her feet, making her way towards the door leading into the hallway. Then, she shot back over her shoulder, her expression flitting back to worried again. "Don't you ever do something like this to me again, you hear me Kel? You're irreplaceable. I don't know where I'd be without you."

~*~*~*~

"I'm telling you, Brandon. It's freaky!" Silver exclaimed loudly as she drowned a Peach Pit French fry in an unhealthy amount of ketchup. "It was like she wasn't herself. I don't even think she knew who I was when she first woke up."

"She didn't know you?" Brandon frowned, mulling over the information Kelly's younger sister had given him the instant he had appeared in the hospital's waiting room, his arms heavily laden with takeout from the Peach Pit. Silver had told him Kelly had finally woken up, but the doctor was with her right then and they wouldn't let him in. "What do you mean?"

"Well, she knew me, but not really. It was weird." Silver commented. "It was like she was expecting me to be different. I don't know. It's hard to explain. What's worse, she didn't even ask about Sammy."

"Really?" This took Brandon by surprised. Kelly struck him as a very conscientious mother. To not inquire about her son was very unlike her.

"Yeah. It was really weird. She didn't even mention him." Silver pursed her lips together thoughtfully. "I even sort of hinted around about him, just to see what she said, but nothing. It was like she had completely forgotten he existed or something. Like I said – weird."

"Yeah, weird." Brandon mused thoughtfully. "What else did she say?"

"Not much, actually." Silver shrugged, taking a long sip of her soda, then making a face. "I thought I told you, I _hate_ Coke."

"Sorry." Brandon brushed her off absently, his mind a whirlwind of activity. He knew he would have to talk to Kelly himself sooner or later, but he wanted to feel at least somewhat prepared for what Kelly's mental state was in. He had a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he didn't want to say anything to worry Silver just yet.

"Anyway… She just seemed confused about things. But I'm sure after the docs take a look at her she'll be doing better. She said she was tired."

"Tired?" Brandon chuckled.

"That's what I thought. If it had been me stuck in a hospital bed for days, I'd be going completely stir crazy! I've got to be up and moving around." Silver announced, demonstrating as she began pacing back and forth the waiting room. "I don't know how Kelly can stand it!"

"Brandon?" The nurse Brandon had become quite familiar with over the past several days appeared in the lobby, a hesitant smile on her face. Of the two nurses that were on the day shift in Kelly's ward, Brandon much preferred this one. He could never keep track of their names, so he gave them his own – Happy and Grumpy. This one, obviously, was Happy.

"Yes?" Brandon rose to his feet, smoothing down his slacks in one swift movement.

"The doctor is done now and Miss. Taylor asking for you."

"She's asking for me?" Brandon was even more confused now. He doubted Kelly would have remembered he was back in town seeing as how she had only seen him for a brief second before passing out. Though he supposed she had heard his voice while she was out of it. He just hoped she had not remembered all of the things he had said.

"The doctor said it would be okay for you to speak with her for a little while, but to make it quick. She needs to rest."

Brandon nodded. "I'll be back in a little bit, Silver. Will you still be here?"

Silver shook her head, glancing down at her watch. "Actually, I've got to get a move on. I'm meeting Brenda and Dylan at the airport."

Brandon frowned, suddenly remembering his parents were going to be flying in tonight. Brenda had called them and explained what had happened with Kelly. Cindy had insisted they fly out immediately, only further confirming in Brandon's mind that his parents had known all along that he was Sammy's father but failed to pass that information on to him. He wondered if Brenda had known as well.

"Right." Brandon said with a sigh. "I had forgotten about that. Do you know what hotel they're going to be staying at? I'd like to talk to them once I'm done here."

Silver gave him a weird look and suddenly he felt like a complete idiot. "They're not staying at a hotel. They're staying at Kelly's. With Sammy."

Brandon shook his head. He was staying at Kelly's house, sleeping on the couch, actually. It was a three-bedroom, but he couldn't imagine Silver, his parents, Sammy, and himself all staying there. Not to mention what would happen when Kelly was discharged. "There's not exactly the room for them, is there?"

Silver let out a knowing laugh. "Not there, silly. She was only renting Rush's old place while the house she bought was being renovated. It was a really nice house back in the day, but it needed a lot of repairs. One would think a bunch of college kids who didn't know how to take care of a house had lived there."

"What on earth are you talking about, Silver?" Brandon scowled, not enjoying the feeling of being in the dark.

"Oh, you'll see." She grinned. "Now shoo. Kelly's waiting for you. And in case you didn't know this already, patience is not exactly one of her strongest suits."

Brandon shrugged his shoulders, and then quickly made his way to Kelly's room, his heart filled with apprehension. He knew he needed to talk to Kelly about Sammy – their son – but he did not want to upset her so soon. He needed to give her the opportunity to tell him herself. Maybe. Even if she did tell him immediately, though, he knew it would not justify her keeping him in the dark all these years.

Looking back on how much he missed of little Sam's life… Brandon shook his head, refusing to let himself follow that train of thought. He could not change the past. He just needed to make sure he was there for Sammy from this point onward. He would make it up to Sammy. Somehow. He was sure of it.

Brandon hesitated just outside of Kelly's room, knocking tentatively on her door.

"Come in." Kelly's voice was weak and did not sound at all like the Kelly he knew and loved. He stepped inside, however, trying to for an encouraging smile to his lips.

"Hey Kel." He greeted her, happy to see that though she sounded awful, she had regained quite a bit of her color already and seemed otherwise completely healthy. "How you doing?"

Kelly smiled beautifully at him, her eyes mirroring the depths of her love like the once had so many years ago. "Hi, Brandon." She breathed out. "I'm feeling good. A bit stiff and a little confused about some things, but the doctor says I'm fine and my confusion will pass in a day or two. He wants to follow up with a psych exam in about a week or so, given my history, but he's fairly confident I'll be fine."

Brandon walked over to her bedside, taking a seat on the bed next to her so he would be at eye-level with her. "Confused? What are you confused about?"

Kelly shrugged, pushing a lock of golden blonde hair out of her eyes. "I don't know. Things just seem weird. Strange somehow… Like everything is a bit off."

"Like what?" Brandon prompted, the sick feeling he had earlier only getting worse with each word that passed Kelly's lips.

"Erin." She began, frowning thoughtfully. "Or I guess, Silver as she says she likes to be called. I just don't remember her getting so old so fast."

Brandon chuckled, nodding, though the worry was still there. "I can understand that. The last time I saw her, she was just a little girl. Now she's nearly a grown woman. She's nearly the age I was when I moved to Beverly Hills."

"Really?" This statement seemed to perplex Kelly and she fell quiet as if mulling this over. "She's what, fifteen? Sixteen?"

"Yeah. About that." Brandon replied vaguely, mostly because he wasn't certain himself. "Though she acts far more mature than even I did when I was her age. She's pretty amazing. I know Jackie and Mel weren't really around for her much, so I guess she had to learn some independence early on. She really looks up to you, Kel."

"I know." Kelly smiled at him, a strange look in her eyes. "I had hoped my mom would do better by Erin than she did by me, but I guess some habits are just hard to break." She glanced down, fidgeting with her fingers nervously. "Brandon, did you take the ring before they took me to the hospital?"

"The ring?" Kelly's question caught him off guard. His thoughts immediately went to the delicate engagement band that was tucked safely away in his suitcase back at Kelly's. He had exactly been sure what he was going to do with it. He had hung onto it for years, hoping that someday it would adorn Kelly's ring finger again, but now everything was muddled and confusing and he no longer knew what to think.

"Our ring, Brandon. It's missing." Kelly informed him, her expression worried. "I asked the nurse about it, but she said I wasn't wearing any jewelry when I came in."

"Our ring?" Brandon echoed her statement as he stared at her with concern-filled eyes. "You mean, our engagement ring?"

"What other ring would I be talking about?" Kelly frowned back.

"Of course I have the ring, Kelly. You, uh, well, you gave it to me." Brandon replied carefully. He well remembered how Kelly has basically thrown a box of his belongings at him after they had broken up. He had expected her to hang on to their ring and had been near devastated when he discovered she had included that in the box as well.

"Oh." Kelly expression was puzzled.

"Kelly, are you sure you're feeling okay?" Brandon pressed, taking one of her hands within his and giving it a tender squeeze.

Kelly's eyes began to pool with tears. "Brandon, I'm so confused. I don't know what's going on. So much is just all jumbled together and I can't make a bit of sense out of it. I _don't_ want to postpone the wedding again. Please, you've got to help me convince the doctors that I'm fine. That all this confusion is nothing."

Brandon stared at her, trying to wrap his head around the words she had just said. He knew he was beginning to sound like some cheap, imitating parrot toy that just repeated everything you said, but he couldn't help it. "Postpone the wedding?"

Kelly wiped at the tears with her back of her hand, clearly upset as she continued. "I nearly fell apart the last time we had to postpone it. I know it was extremely important than Jim and Cindy, not to mention Brenda and Dylan, would be able to come, but it nearly destroyed me. I can't go through that again."

Brandon had to bite his tongue to keep from asking Kelly what on earth she was talking about. She was clearly more than a little confused. If he understood her correctly, she somehow believed they were still engaged and getting married, though everything about postponing the wedding made no sense to Brandon whatsoever.

"Is everything alright in here?" The nurse, Cammie, Brandon now recalled her name, had come into the room, her expression stern after seeing Kelly's obvious distress. "Miss Taylor, is Brandon bothering you?"

Kelly was quick to shake her head. "Oh, no! He's been absolutely wonderful. He's always been wonderful." She breathed out the last part, reaching for Brandon's hand and running her fingers along the back of it softly.

The frown remained on Cammie's face as she glanced back and forth between the former lovers. At last she heaved a heavy sigh and nodded. "Alright, Miss, but remember what the doctor said. Do not overdo it."

"Don't worry, Cammie. I need to get going right now anyway." Brandon rose to his feet, a grimace on his face.

"Do you really have to go?" Kelly clung to his hand.

Brandon nodded. He needed to let Dylan and Brenda know she had woken up, as well as the rest of their friends. Everyone had been on pins and needles awaiting his call. He also needed to warn them about her mental state.

Brandon also needed to discuss things with the doctor, but he was fairly certain she was suffering from some sort of amnesia – again. Though this time it seemed to be selected amnesia with a little bit of fantasy thrown in. Whatever it was, Brandon knew it was well beyond his extremely meager medical knowledge.

"I'm sorry, Kel." He whispered. "I really do need to go. But, I promise I will be back as soon as I can, alright?"

Kelly smiled weakly. "Alright, Brandon. I understand. I don't want you to have to sit around, cooped up in this hospital all day anyway. Bad enough that one of us has to be in here."

"Don't worry, Miss Taylor. You'll be out of here before you know it." Cammie assured her. "The doctors just like to monitor coma patients carefully for the first seventy-two hours."

"Seventy-two hours?" Kelly exclaimed loudly. "That's three days! I can't be stuck in a hospital for three days. I have a wedding I need to finish planning."

Cammie frowned in confusion, glancing over at Brandon with questions in her eyes. Brandon had a hunch he was going to be having a long chat with the nurse the second he left the room.

"Don't fret, Kel." Brandon stated in an attempt to sooth her. "I'll be by your side as much as possible. And Silver too. When she's not in school. Not to mention Dylan and Brenda, Steve and Janet, and of course David and Donna. Donna's been going out of her mind with you in here."

"Alright." Kelly consented at last, her eyes beginning to droop slightly. Stifling a yawn, Kelly gave Brandon's hand one final squeeze before turning over onto her side, obviously ready to fall back into sound slumber. "Just bring our ring with you next time you come. I miss it."

"No problem, Kel." Brandon murmured, though he doubted she heard him. He leaned over and planted a quick kiss on her temple before turning to Cammie, offering her a somewhat dubious smile. "Uh, I think we need to talk."

"Obviously. But not in here." Cammie stated somewhat coolly. She led him out of the room and to the nurse's station where she shooed 'Grumpy' away. "So talk. Why didn't you mention you were Miss Taylor's fiancé?"

"Because I'm not." Brandon explained with a weary sigh. "I _was_. About eight or nine years ago. We were supposed to get married in May of 2000 but called it off at the last minute. I don't know why, but she thinks we only postponed the wedding or something. I couldn't really make much sense of what she was saying."

Cammie's face twisted up in thoughtful concern. "Well, given Miss Taylor's history, it is possible she is suffering from some sort of amnesia. However, that will be up to the doctor to diagnose. My suggestion to you, though, would be to take things slowly. Don't tell her she doesn't remember the past eight years. Humor her. I'm sure that in time she'll remember on her own."

"And if she doesn't?"

Cammie shrugged. "Like I said, I'm not a doctor. You'll have to talk to him for some more specifics."

"Our son…" Brandon trialed off uncertainly. "I don't think she remembers our son at all. If she did, I'm sure he would be the first person she was asking about. But she didn't…"

Cammie nodded. "That could be difficult. Hold on a minute." Cammie went behind the desk for a minute, rifling through some file cabinet drawers, pulling out some pamphlets. "Here's some information for people with loved ones with amnesia. It might be able to help you somewhat."

Brandon accepted the handouts, though he doubted there would be any new information in there. He had read just about everything he could get his hands on back several years ago when he was desperately trying to get Kelly to remember how much she was in love with him. "Thanks, Cammie." He murmured, shoving the pamphlets in his pocket.

"Be careful around her, Brandon. She may seem like a very strong young woman, but underneath she's fragile and she's in an especially delicate state right now." Cammie warned him. "Now is not the time to go breaking her heart. Again."

"I know." Brandon agreed. "Believe me, I know."

_Author's Notes:_

_So there we go. The soapy angle I've been talking about for the past several chapters. I know. It's a bit over the top and kinda silly, but I decided I'm going to have fun with this story (since I was never really sure what direction it was going in the first place!). There isn't going to be anything tragic or horrible happening and even though someone having amnesia is a tragic thing in reality, it's not going to be so much in this fic. _

_Now, for all of you who have some bruised BD hearts right now, the next part is going to feature them. It's an airport scene. It's not going to be 100% Brenda/Dylan but the one after that probably will be more so. We'll have to see what happens. But I think you guys will enjoy what transpires at the airport. _

_I'm off to work on Summer Lovin' and then to start work on the sequel to Error Proof. Hopefully they'll both be updated this week. _

_Cheers,_

_Jianna_

_P.S._

_You guys know the drill – fastest way to make me update is to leave feedback. ___


	14. Chapter 14

_Author's Notes:_

_Hey everyone! Another new part. It actually didn't turn out to have as many Brenda/Dylan moments as I had originally wanted, but it laid out a lot of groundwork for future moments between them. And trust me – there's going to be a lot. Anyway… Please read and let me know what you guys think. I know everything is getting a bit cheesy and over the top, but you can't say I didn't warn you. :) Also, please let me know what you guys think of what I came up with for Kelly not telling Brandon about Sammy. I really struggled coming up with a believable reason. _

_Anyway… I'll stop babbling and let you guys read._

**Part Fourteen**

Dylan let out a weary sigh as he reclined as much as possible in the uncomfortable, molded plastic seat at the Los Angeles International Airport. Brenda had insisted they arrive early just in case her parents' flight was ahead of schedule. However, rather than cooperating, the flight from Hong Kong had been severely delayed and they had been waiting for close to two hours now.

Brenda had been patient at first, but for the past forty-five minutes she had been pacing furiously back and forth in front of the chairs where he and Silver were waiting, pausing only to pester the poor airline agent at the counter, asking for an updated status on the Walshes' flight. Silver had made a few futile attempts to get Brenda to sit back down and relax, but Dylan knew better. When Brenda was this anxious about something, she would not be able to calm down until it was resolved.

What Dylan couldn't understand was why Brenda was so worked up over seeing her parents again. Though their relationship had been strained while Brenda was in high school and early college, mostly due to her relationship with Dylan, he had been under the impression that after they had split up while in London, they had rebuilt bridges between them and had regained the closeness they had once shared before Dylan had come into their lives.

"She get like this a lot?" Silver inquired, tearing her eyes off from the older woman to glance over at Dylan. She tucked her long, dark hair behind one ear and for about the twentieth time that day, she reminded him keenly of a young Kelly Taylor. Though the two sisters could not look more different, they shared so many of the same mannerisms and ways of speaking that Dylan found him frequently almost calling her by her sister's name instead of her own.

"Sometimes." Dylan replied. "When she's upset about something."

"I thought she was excited Jim and Cindy were going to be in town. If I had known she was going to act so neurotic, I would have told her I couldn't borrow Dixon's van to pick them up and she couldn't come. Then maybe we wouldn't be attracting Homeland Security's attention." She glanced over at two beefy-looking young men who were watching Brenda carefully, though Dylan could tell they didn't really feel she was a threat. If they did, they would have already escorted her to a back room, no doubt.

"She's just nervous, that's all. She'll calm down once she sees them." Dylan stated, hoping that he was telling Silver the truth.

"She needs some sort of distraction." Silver smiled impishly. "I know it's not quite the Mile High Club, but surely you get _something_ for doing it in the bathroom at the airport."

"Uh, no." Dylan shook his head. Not that making love to Brenda – even in an airport bathroom – wasn't an appealing idea to Dylan, he knew she would never go for it. As wild as she was in bed, she tended to get a bit shy when it came to making love anywhere but in a traditional location. Once, while they were in London, they had gotten trapped in an elevator and he had nearly convinced her to give it a go, but just as she was about to give in, the lift had started to move once again and she had immediately pulled her shirt back on.

"You're no fun." Silver pouted, folding her arms against her chest. "Though I guess I know something else that would help get her mind off her parents coming."

"And what's that?" Dylan asked curiously. From the high school girl's expression, he could tell it was something at least somewhat juicy, though he wasn't sure his definition of interesting was the same as hers.

"Oh," She began coyly, "I could just tell her who Sammy's real father is."

Dylan stared at Silver, tightening his jaw slightly. He had not been aware Silver knew the true identity of Sammy's dad. The last he had known, only a small handful of people knew – and they had all been sworn to secrecy: the Silvers, Jim and Cindy and himself, of course. Kelly had hinted that someone else knew as well, but she had never revealed who and Dylan had not pressed her for information. If he needed to know, she would tell him eventually.

Silver's eyes widened, clearly putting two and two together. "You know too, don't you?"

Dylan nodded slowly. "Yeah, I do. I just didn't know _you_ did."

"I didn't. But, it was pretty easy to figure out." Silver explained, stretching. "I mean, once I actually saw him, not just a picture of him, I knew. Then everything started to make sense. Jim and Cindy suddenly taking such an active interest in his life and all. You don't just start doting on your son's ex-fiancée's child by another man, you know? Plus, they look almost exactly alike. Same smile. Same shape of the eyes. And, while I was hunting through some of Kelly's old things I found a baby picture of Brandon. He looks _just_ like Sammy did when he was a baby."

"Does she know you know?"

Silver's expression clouded and she quickly shook her head. "Uh, I don't really know how much Kelly knows at all at this point."

"What do you mean?"

"She seems, uh, well, confused." Silver explained, her eyes filling with worry. "When I was talking to her, it was like she expected me to be a little girl or something. She didn't ask me about Sammy at all, and I know Kelly. He's always the first person she asks about. She was acting so strange, too. Almost like she wasn't herself anymore."

"I highly doubt Kelly was abducted by aliens and replaced with PodKelly or whatever other crazy theory you might have cooked up in there…" Dylan trailed off, a teasing smile on his lips. "She's probably just a little disoriented. She's been out of it for several days now."

"I know. But I think it's more than that." Silver frowned. "I'm not sure, but I think she might have amnesia again."

"But you said she knew you…" Dylan felt his stomach begin to churn. He remembered when Kelly had amnesia the first time. He had been in London with Brenda still, but he well-recalled the distraught phone calls from Brandon in the middle of the night. It had nearly driven Brandon over the edge realizing that Kelly had forgotten she was in love with him.

Silver shrugged. "Look, I don't know. I'm no doctor. It was just strange. She was strange."

"Who was strange?" Brenda had stopped her pacing and now stood in front of them, her hands on her slim hips as she eyed them suspiciously. "Are you calling me strange?"

"No!" Silver exclaimed, shaking her head. "Of course not, Brenda. I was just saying that, uh, Annie is strange."

"Annie?" Brenda cocked an eyebrow. "Your boyfriend's sister?"

Silver nodded. "And my best friend." She hesitated, obviously trying to come up with something that would sound convincing. "She's been acting a bit off with me since Dixon and I began dating and I was telling Dylan about it."

Dylan shot a sideways glance at Silver, not really sure why she was lying to Brenda about Kelly's condition, or rather, suspected condition. "Silv-" He began, but was cut off by Brenda.

"Why do I get the impression you're lying to me, Silver?" Brenda stared down the younger girl, her green eyes blazing intensely.

"I'm not." Silver's cheeks flushed crimson.

"You are. Why? What's wrong? Is something the matter with Kelly?"

"Brandon's Sammy's dad!" Silver blurted it out, then immediately clapped her hands over her mouth.

Brenda's eyes widened in complete shock as she stared at Silver, disbelief written clearly across her face. "Wh-what did you say, Silver?"

"Nothing!" Silver exclaimed, shaking her head almost violently. "I didn't say anything. I swear. I didn't say anything."

"Yes you did. You said that Brandon was Sammy's father." Brenda said the words slowly, carefully, as if testing them on her tongue to discern if they were true or not. She glanced over at Dylan. "This doesn't surprise you?"

Knowing he would get no where by trying to lie to her, he shook his head. "No. It doesn't. I knew already."

"You _knew_ already?" Brenda's shock was obvious. "You knew and you didn't tell me?"

"Bren, don't over-react. Please. I promised Kelly I wouldn't tell anyone. Especially you. She knew that if you found out, Brandon would find out and then, well, it wouldn't have been a good thing."

"And why not?" Brenda's words were laced with acid. "Why shouldn't Brandon know he has a beautiful little four-year-old son?"

"He does know." Silver said softly, almost so low that you couldn't hear her.

"Brandon knows too?" Brenda did not turn her accusing eyes away from Dylan.

"Only just." Silver explained. "He didn't know until a few days ago, I guess. Ryan said something at Kelly's house and he figured it out from there."

Brenda nodded slowly, digesting the information before opening her mouth again. "So why didn't Kelly tell Brandon from the start? How could she keep something like this from him?"

"You don't understand, Bren." Dylan rose to his feet, taking her hands in his own. "She wanted to tell Brandon. She really did. She was scared to at first, though. She didn't know how he'd react. Plus, she really didn't know if she'd be able to carry Sammy to term. Why upset Brandon over what could have turned out to be another miscarriage?"

"Alright, I can accept that. So why didn't she tell him when he came and visited her at the hospital?"

Dylan's face hardened. He well remembered the Walsh twins showing up in Kelly's recovery room, gift basket and flowers in hand. They had taken one look at Kelly, the baby and Dylan then turned and left with barely saying more than three sentences.

"You two hardly gave her the chance." Dylan stated, trying to keep from gritting his teeth. "You saw us together and it was obvious what you thought. You thought I was Sammy's father, didn't you?"

Brenda's cheeks flushed guiltily.

"I knew it." Dylan shook his head. He had tried to call Brenda shortly after, but she had never returned his messages. It all made sense now. "Well, I'm not. Obviously. When you two left, Kelly broke down and started bawling her eyes out. The whole story came out at that point. Sleeping with Brandon, then finding out she was pregnant and bumping into Conners at the bar…"

"She was drinking while she was pregnant?"

"No." Dylan's reply was sharper than he had intended it to be. He quickly changed his tone, "She wasn't drinking, but yes, she was at a bar. She didn't know what to do. Brandon didn't even remember spending the night with her."

"Really?" Brenda's expression had softened and Dylan could tell she was starting to feel more sympathetic towards Kelly's plight rather than just defending her poor brother.

"No. He didn't. She had called him, apparently, and tried to talk to him about it, but he had only brushed her off. You know, Kelly. She's always struggled feeling worthy enough for Brandon and each time he rejects her, it makes it all the more difficult for her to try and pick herself back up afterward."

"I know." Brenda's eyes were beginning to water and Dylan knew he was getting through to her. If he could convince Brenda not to hate Kelly for never telling Brandon the truth about Sammy, he knew Brandon would forgive her as well. "But still… He's Sammy's father. It's been over four years. Surely she could have told him before now…"

"Like I said, she tried." Dylan continued. "Remember how I tried to call you but you wouldn't call me back?"

"Yeah." She looked a bit sheepish.

"Well, that's because she was hoping that _you_ would know how to reach Brandon. When Sammy was about three-months-old she had finally worked up the nerve to try and tell him again, but by that point, he had already disappeared."

Dylan watched as Brenda's face crumpled, the tears that had been threatening to spill over for several minutes finally cascading down her pale cheeks. As difficult as Brandon's vanishing had been for Dylan and even Kelly, he knew it had near destroyed his twin.

"I-I had forgotten about that." Brenda blinked away the tears. "I didn't put the two together…"

"Wait a minute!" Silver exclaimed, jumping up from her seat. "What are you two talking about? Brandon disappeared?"

Dylan studied Silver thoughtfully for a full minute before he answered. Though she had been old enough to remember at the time, Dylan could recall how oblivious he was to everything around him when he had been ten or eleven years old.

"You know Brandon's a reporter, right?" Dylan began, waiting for Silver to nod before continuing. "Well, a few years ago he started doing a story on California's most nefarious mob family, the Marchettes." He tried not to make a face as he said the name. As far as he was concerned, there had only been one good and decent Marchette, and her own father had killed her.

"I think I've heard of them." Silver mused, her bright blue eyes watching him carefully. Dylan had a hunch she probably knew more than she was letting on.

"Yeah, most everyone has." Dylan conceded. "Well, right before the story was going to go to paper, Brandon disappeared."

"Yeah, I got that. But why? Did they try and take him out or something?"

"Something like that." Dylan confirmed.

"They were going to try." Brenda jumped in. "But Brandon was warned by his source that he needed to lay low for awhile. Brandon had some dealings with the FBI in the past, and was able to be put into a sort of Witness Protection Program. Thing was, in order for him to be completely safe, though, he couldn't tell a soul."

"Not even his family?" Silver's eyes widened.

"Not even his family." Brenda's expression was sad. "We had actually thought the Marchettes had gotten him. I knew he was doing a piece on them and when he vanished without a trace…" She trailed off.

"How long was he gone for?" Silver prompted.

"A little over a year." Dylan informed the younger girl as he wrapped his arm around Brenda's shoulders, giving her a comforting squeeze. "By the time Brandon resurfaced, Sammy was over a year and a half and at that point, Kelly had told everyone that Kyle Conners was the father. Mostly because she didn't want everyone to think _I_ was. Though apparently the two people she told that lie for didn't get the update."

Brenda grimaced. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it, Bren. I'm just glad you know the truth now." He planted a quick kiss against her head before releasing her from his embrace, his eyes going over her head as he spotted two somewhat familiar faces coming through the crowd of people that had evidently just disembarked. "Don't look now, but I think our wait is finally over."

Brenda's eyes flew up to the arrivals and departures screen to check the flight information, then over in the direction Dylan was already looking. A tentative smile broke out across her face as she suddenly entwined her fingers through Dylan's. She gave it a tight squeeze. "If my Dad says anything… Just ignore him. Please."

"It's been over ten years, Bren. He can't still hate me, can he?"

Brenda's expression looked doubtful and suddenly Dylan understood some of her unease from earlier. She hadn't been worried about seeing her parents again, she had been worried about seeing them with him by her side. Before she asked him herself, Dylan removed his hand from hers and went to stand on Silver's other side. Brenda shot him a questioning look, but he pretended not to notice. He did not want to create a scene at the airport, especially not under their current circumstances.

"Brenda! Erin! Dylan!" Cindy Walsh spotted them, a joyous expression illuminating her face. Though Cindy was now in her late forties, she had aged gracefully and was still a beautiful woman. Jim, on the other hand, had not aged nearly as well and where he only had a receding hairline when Dylan had first been introduced to him, Jim was now nearly completely bald.

"Mom! Dad!" Brenda exclaimed, racing over to greet them. She wrapped her arms around her mother, giving her an affectionate squeeze before turning to her father. She hesitated for half a moment before embracing him and placing a quick kiss on his cheek. "I'm so happy you guys got here! Your flight was so late I was getting worried…"

"Oh, those arrival times are more like suggestions for international flights." Jim waved off Brenda's concern. "Of all the times I've flown back and forth between Hong Kong and the US, I've only arrived 'on time' once instead of early or late."

"Erin, I can't believe how much you've grown! It feels like just yesterday I was visiting your mother in the hospital after you were born and now look at you! You're all grown up and a beautiful young woman." Cindy remarked, admiring Silver. Dylan was shocked Silver did not immediately correct Cindy on her name.

"Thanks, Mrs. Walsh." Silver's cheeks were flushed with color and Dylan could tell that she probably wasn't used to that much fuss over her.

"Please. Call me Cindy. We've been over this before." Cindy chuckled then turned her attention to Dylan. "It's good to see you too, Dylan. How've you been?"

Dylan gave Cindy a quick hug before replying. "I've been good. Busy, but good. And you?"

"The same." Cindy assured him with a happy smile. "Hong Kong has been good to us."

"That it has." Jim agreed, his eyes on Dylan, measuring him in a manner that keenly reminded Dylan of how the old man had looked at him back in high school. "It's been a long time, Dylan."

"Yes." Dylan responded a bit quicker than he had planned. Jim Walsh still had the ability to put him on edge. "Yes, it has."

Jim said nothing, his eyes darting back and forth between Brenda and Dylan. He let out a small sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose some things are pretty inevitable, aren't they?" He paused, his expression one of someone resigned to an undeniable fate. "You know, Dylan, it was never against you personally-"

"It was always personal, Jim." Dylan cut him off, his tone smooth and measured. "I was never good enough for your daughter."

"No man ever will be." Jim stated simply, seemingly unfazed by Dylan's sharp retort. "It's part of being a father. You'll understand someday, I'm sure." Jim paused, glancing over at Brenda and offering her a slight, sideways smile. "_But_ I know my daughter is pretty much miserable when she's not with you. Every father wants their child to be happy, and if you're the reason behind Brenda's smile today, then I will not stand in your way any longer."

"You misunder-" Dylan began, but stopped at Brenda's sharp look.

"Thank you, Daddy." Brenda said quietly, glancing away from Dylan's inquisitive look. Though they had spent the past several days discussing just about anything and everything that can be talked about, they had carefully avoided the topic of their relationship. The last Dylan had known, Brenda never wanted to be involved with him again, though he was not about to give up on her so easily.

"That goes for both of us." Cindy put in. "Life is too short to be at odds like this. You've always been like a second son to me, Dylan. You need to know that. Even when you weren't dating Brenda, I always felt like we were connected."

"You've always been the family I've never had." Dylan admitted truthfully. Which was why Jim's rejection of him had always stung so sharply. "Thank you. Both of you." He glanced over at Jim meaningfully.

"Look, not to break up this happy reunion, but we really need to get going." Silver glanced down at her watch meaningfully. "Donna told me they could only watch Sammy until two and it's already quarter till. Unless traffic is unbelievably light, we're going to be late."

"She's right." Brenda nodded. "We need to get going. Plus, I'd really like to visit Kelly at the hospital before visiting hours are over. They might bend the rules for Brandon, but I don't think that nurse likes me very much."

"Stella?" Dylan chuckled. "I don't think she likes anyone very much."

"Wait a minute…" Cindy cut them off. "Kelly's awake now?"

Silver, being the only one who had actually seen Kelly since she had woken up, nodded. "Yeah. She woke up just a few hours ago. I spoke with her a bit and then Brandon was going in to see her."

Cindy made a face, then glanced over at Jim with a meaningful look in her eye. "We're going to need to talk to him, Jim."

"That's not our place, Cin. It's up to Kelly to tell him." Jim replied.

"Look, if you're dancing around the fact that Brandon is Sammy's father, don't. We all know already." Brenda cut in. "Brandon does too, for that matter."

"He does?" Cindy's eyes widened.

Brenda nodded. "Apparently so. Silver says he figured it out all on his own. Though I say he shouldn't have had to. How could you two keep this from him?" She eyed her parents accusingly.

"It wasn't our secret to tell, Brenda." Jim told her pointedly. "Kelly told us when we thought Brandon was dead."

"We called her to let her know that we were going to see about having the police declare him legally dead." Cindy stated, her face having gone grey and Dylan could tell that despite it being nearly three years since Brandon had vanished, Cindy still struggled with it.

"Look, now is neither the time nor the place to be discussing this. Let's get everyone back to Kelly's and we can get it sorted out there." Dylan stepped in, taking charge so they did not go on yet another emotional journey before leaving the airport.

"Kelly's." Jim chuckled, shaking his head. "Sounds so strange to hear someone refer to that old place as Kelly's."

"What do you mean?" Brenda cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh, didn't you know," Silver grinned at the dark-haired beauty. "Kelly bought Casa Walsh a little while ago when Steve and Janet moved out."

"Seriously?" Brenda's eyes widened.

"Uh huh." Silver giggled. "Don't go getting any ideas, Bren. I've already called your old room. I _love_ that window seat."

"Yeah, me too." Brenda nodded, obviously numb. She glanced over at Dylan and he smiled sympathetically at her.

"No more surprised today, Bren." He whispered, grabbing onto the luggage cart Jim had been pushing earlier. "That I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, McKay." Silver retorted, then began to lead the group out of the airport, seemingly unaware of the people she jostled out of her way as she went.

_Author's Notes:_

_A bit of a long chapter but I wanted to get a lot of stuff out there. Like I said, not a whole lot of Brenda & Dylan but they're going to be heavily featured from hereon out. I'll try and get some really sweet scenes in there within a chapter or two. But I need to have a bit more groundwork laid out before that point… _

_Anyway, for those of you who are eagerly awaiting the sequel to Error Proof… I'm still working on it. I'm struggling a bit with the prologue but hopefully *this* week I'll have it up. Yeah, I know, I said that *last* week, but this time I really mean it. _

_Cheers,_

_Jianna_


	15. Chapter 15

_Author's Notes:_

_Hey everyone! I am SO very sorry it has taken me forever to update. I've been so busy with life, work, and hopefully soon school that I just haven't had time or the mental resources to write. I'm also sorry about the chapter you're about to read because IMO it's not up to par with what I normally like to write. It feels choppy and a bit repetitive but some conversations had to take place in this chapter for the story to actually progress that really aren't the sort of conversations you can leave to assuming taking place, you know? So anyway… Read it and review. I could really use some encouragement at this moment in time. Please…_

_Cheers,_

_Jianna_

**Part Fifteen**

Silver frowned thoughtfully as she stared down at the notebook she had been busy scribbling comments in for the past two hours. She could tell by how sloppy her handwriting had gotten towards the end that she was starting to loose her focus and not giving the project the attention it required. Though going through her sister's old diaries was a good deal more interesting – and definitely juicier! – than sitting in class, trying to take notes as a boring teacher lectured on ancient history that had absolutely nothing to do with Silver and her life, this project she and Brandon were working on was beginning to feel a lot more like homework and less like something she had originally thought would be fun to do.

"You alright, kid?" Brandon had looked up from the diary he was in the process of reading. Silver couldn't help but notice his handwriting had remained neat and his notes were far more orderly than her hurried jots that she doubted even she could make sense of now.

"Yeah." Silver replied as she stretched lazily. She had been seated in the same position the entire time and her muscles were starting to get sore and cramped. "The words are starting to swim, though. Why did Kelly have to have such teeny tiny handwriting?"

"Ah, it's not so bad." Brandon shrugged, closing the diary he was going through. "Once you get used to it. It's only bad when you get to her angry entries. Those are nearly impossible to read."

"Yeah. Tell me about it." Silver grimaced. She had read the stinging entry Kelly had written two days after she and Brandon had called off the wedding. Her sister had made some very biting remarks about her ex-fiancé that Silver was glad Brandon had not had to read.

"She talks a lot about you in her diaries, doesn't she?" Brandon commented absently.

"I noticed." Silver felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. The first entry she had stumbled across that had mentioned her had been very tender, very loving. Kelly had said some very sweet things about the seven-year-old Erin that Silver only hoped her sister still felt towards her. She knew their relationship had become strained – especially since Silver had been forced to move in with Kelly, but Silver was determined to be a better sister to Kelly, even if she never remembered what a horrible one she had been over the past few weeks.

"So, uh, what have you discovered?" Silver inquired, attempting to steer the conversation to safe grounds. "What was the old gang up to back during the summer of 2000?"

"Well, honestly, a lot." Brandon replied, turning back the pages of his notebook to the beginning. Silver noticed Brandon had used a separate sheet of paper for each of their old friends. "It's really complicated because I really know what Kelly remembers or not. I mean, Steve could have been chasing after a married woman named Sarah or possibly a woman by the name of Sophie who apparently had the hots for David."

"You mean David and Donna weren't together?" Silver's eyes widened with surprise. "That will complicate things."

"Yeah, it will." Brandon agreed. "Donna was still dating Noah – who I can't even get a hold of."

"Noah." Silver furrowed her brow, trying to conjure up a face to go with that name. She knew Kelly had mentioned him a few times, but he obviously had not made all that much of an impact on her sister's life if she didn't have current information on him in her Blackberry. "I don't really remember him much."

Brandon shrugged. "I didn't know him very well either. I'm hoping that Kelly will believe us if we tell her Donna and Noah split while she was in the hospital and then David and Donna got back together. It's plausible, right?"

"I suppose so." Silver drawled out slowly, scribbling over her idea to have David and Valerie pose as a couple. Up until almost the day of the wedding the two had been together and from the entries Kelly had written, her sister had believed those two would one day get married – not David and Donna. "So what do we do with Valerie?"

"I have no clue, honestly." Brandon admitted. "She and David had just broken up. Kelly didn't write too much about what was going on in Val's life, but I think she was having some serious issues with her mother at the time. I'm not sure, though."

"Hum." Silver pursed her lips together. "And Steve? What do we do about him and Janet being together?"

"Oh, that's easy." Brandon brushed off her worries. "At that point in time, Steve was going after any pretty face he saw. Janet was already working at the Beverly Beat so it shouldn't be too difficult for Kelly to assume they're dating."

"What about Maddie? And Brandon?"

"I haven't quite figured out what to do about the kids. I mean, short-term it shouldn't be too difficult to handle, but long-term…" Brandon sighed wearily. "I don't even want to consider what we'll do if Kelly doesn't regain her memory within a few weeks."

Silver nodded, mulling over his words thoughtfully. She knew he was thinking about Sammy. Silver was thinking about her little nephew too. He had been asking about Kelly for the past several days. Silver had gotten tired of having to lie to the little guy, but the doctors were too worried that Kelly's condition might somehow worsen if she was suddenly presented with a son she had completely forgotten about. Plus, Silver knew it would be fairly traumatic for Sammy if he found out his mommy didn't know him anymore.

"I think you need to tell him." Silver said suddenly.

"Tell who what?" Brandon frowned at her, completely lost.

"Whoops. Sorry. Forgot you weren't a mind reader." Silver forced out an artificial laugh. "I was talking about Sammy. I think you need to tell him you're his father."

Brandon's eyes widened in surprised and he opened his mouth as if to argue with her, but Silver quickly cut him off.

"I know it's what Kelly would want. If he can't have his mommy right now, he can at least have his dad, right?" Silver presented, then added softly. "She's always wanted you to know, Brandon. I could never figure out why she hadn't told you before, but the other day when we were at the airport, Dylan and Brenda helped me figure a thing or two out. Well, actually, Dylan laid it all out for Bren and I. Everything suddenly made sense."

"Then maybe you can explain it to me." Brandon stated tightly, obviously trying to stay in control of his already strained emotions.

"Things were complicated at first. With Kelly's endometriosis and all. She didn't even know if she'd be able to have Sammy." Silver began to explain, wishing this task had somehow fallen onto someone else's shoulders. Silver wasn't about to put it off though. That was one thing she had learned by watching Kelly's mistakes. If you continued to put the important things off, it would just become more difficult to tell the truth in the long run.

"So why didn't she tell me after he was born?"

"Well, I don't really remember what happened at the hospital, but from what Dylan said, you and Brenda sort of made a scene or something." Silver shrugged. "Kelly lost it and that's when she told Dylan. I guess when she finally thought she'd had worked up the courage to tell you, you had disappeared."

Brandon's face softened. "Oh."

"Yeah." Silver bit down on her lower lip, glancing away from Brandon's gaze. She had been sleeping over at Kelly's the night her sister had gotten the late-night phone call telling her that Brandon had disappeared and was most likely dead. She had stayed up with Kelly until four in the morning, allowing her big sister to cry on her shoulder. At the time, Silver had been unable to connect the two events, but after hearing Dylan and Brenda discussing it, everything had fallen into place.

"How's it going in here?" Brenda suddenly materialized in the doorway of the kitchen, her expression sober, almost as if she had known the tone of the mood before she had entered the room.

"Nearly done." Silver announced. "I think we have enough information gleaned from Kel's journals for everyone to be able to act the part. At least for a little while."

"The charade isn't going to hold up for long if she doesn't recover her memory soon." Brandon stated wearily. "I really hope the psychologist knows what they're doing."

Brenda shrugged, pulling up a chair at the kitchen table with Brandon and Silver. "I don't really see what choice we have in the matter. The shrink said trying to flood her with all sorts of things she's supposed to remember could possibly cause her even more trauma. Make her forget even more."

"I still think it's a bad idea." Silver stated grumpily. "Kelly's strong. She's been through even more than I ever knew. She can make it through this."

The twins both looked at Silver doubtfully and suddenly she felt as if she were on the spot. These two people knew her sister far better than she; they had to know what was best for Kelly.

"Or whatever." Silver continued, admitting defeat. "I just hope Kel's not mad when she does remember. I think we've all learned that honesty is the best policy."

"But what if she forgets more, Silver?" Brenda inquired gently and Silver felt her resistance begin to give. "What if she forgets about you?"

"She's got amnesia. Not Alzheimer's." Silver rolled her eyes.

"Let's just give this a try, Silver. If she doesn't remember, we'll change tactics, alright?" Brandon suggested and then added, "I don't like it any more than you do, Silver, but it's the doctors' recommendation. We're no experts in this matter, but they are."

"Not hardly." Silver snorted.

"Silver." Brenda stated in a warning tone.

"Ladies, let's not fight." Brandon stepped in before the two stubborn young women began to argue over whether or not doctors actually knew what they were doing. "Let's go over everything and make sure we're all on the same page."

"Sounds like a plan." Brenda quickly shifted gears, grabbing Brandon's notebook and skimming his notes. "So… Steve and Janet are going to pretend they're dating and so are David and Donna?"

"Uh huh." Brandon confirmed. "We weren't able to get in touch with Noah, the guy who Donna was dating at the time, but they were fighting a lot around Kel's and my aborted wedding, so it shouldn't be too hard to convince Kelly that they broke up. And since David and Donna always seemed to find their way back to each other, that should be easy for her to swallow as well."

"Andrea shouldn't be an issue either." Silver put in. "She was still living in New Haven, but Kelly knew she and Jesse were still having marital problems. We can tell Kelly they decided to move back to California to be closer to family and that helped their relationship."

"Which is what really happened. Just a couple more years down the road." Brenda nodded in understanding. "What about Dylan?"

Silver felt a sly smile spread across her lips. "Why, Brenda, you don't remember?" She inquired with mock innocence. "He was living with you in London."

"Oh yeah." Brenda's cheeks flushed with color. "I had forgotten that."

"Not only was he living with you in London, but he was about to propose." Brandon informed his sister and Silver watched in bemusement as shock registered on the younger twin's face.

"Wh-what?"

"Dylan was going to propose to you, Brenda." Silver repeated, flipping open the journal she had discovered this tidbit of information in. She had flagged the entry so she could show Brenda. "Dylan called Kelly a couple of weeks before she and Brandon were going to get married. He wanted her to know he was going to propose to you."

"Wh-why didn't he?" Brenda stammered.

"Don't know." Silver shrugged. "Kelly didn't mention it again."

"She wrote a couple of entries about how she hadn't heard from you in a long time." Brandon suggested helpfully. "And then nothing about Dylan until he showed up in Beverly Hills out of the blue."

"Oh." Brenda glanced down at the table, shamefaced. Silver had a hunch Brenda knew exactly why Dylan had not proposed and would give anything to be a fly on the wall when she had her next conversation with him.

"ANYWAY…" Silver stated suddenly, breaking the tension. "We've got pretty much all the bases covered. You and Dylan are going to act like you're happily in love. David and Donna will act like they're re-discovering their love. Steve and Janet will be beginning to fall in love. And Valerie… Well, she's all alone."

"Ouch." Brenda commented.

"We're forgetting one person, though." Brandon stated softly. "Someone who wasn't exactly a part of Kelly's life in 1998 but is definitely a part of her life now."

"And who is that?" Brenda frowned in confusion as realization dawned on Silver.

"Mr. Matthews. Ryan." She paused, doing the math in her head quickly. "He, uh, he would have been fourteen in 1998."

Brenda attempted unsuccessfully to suppress a giggle. "Are you serious?"

Silver nodded. "Yeah. He's only twenty-four. He's the youngest teacher at West Beverly. Lots of girls have crushes on him, though I can't understand why." She locked gazes with Brenda meaningfully, silently asking her to keep quiet about what they both knew about the English teacher's dark past.

"Well, no matter how old he was at the time, Ryan is a part of Kelly's life now and he's made it very clear to me that he's not going to be going away any time soon." Brandon sighed wearily. "I had to invite him tonight."

"Ugh." Silver groaned, trying to imagine Ryan Matthews in a room full of Kelly's closest friends and family. He would be a fish out of water and would no doubt, cause problems. She couldn't imagine him being too thrilled at the idea of having to play along with Kelly not remembering she was dating him and that she was still engaged to Brandon.

"So what are we going to do about him?" Brenda inquired. "We can't just ask him to go away, can we?"

Brandon shook his head.

"Maybe we can say he's a friend of David's or something?" Silver suggested. "I'm sure I could get David to go along with it."

"He does look the sort that David would have hung around with." Brenda agreed, wrinkling her nose. "I guess that could work."

"As long as Ryan agrees to go along with it as well." Brandon heaved. "Either way, I'm not looking forward to tonight. It's going to be a madhouse."

"You sure you want to have it at Casa Walsh?" Brenda asked her brother softly.

"This place isn't big enough." Brandon sighed, glancing about the living room of the house Kelly was currently renting. "And Steve and Janet's isn't much bigger. Hannah's going to be watching the kids over at David and Donna's… That doesn't give us too many options… We're a big group."

"Yeah, but don't you think it will be weird?" Brenda continued. "I mean, it's our home. But it's not."

"No. It's not. It's Kelly's. Kelly's and my son's." Brandon then glanced over at Silver, quickly adding, "And Silver's."

"Naw. I'm just hanging out there until I take over Brenda's flat in London." She quipped.

"Yeah, right." Brenda fixed Silver with a look, though she had a teasing light in her eyes.

"I could happen." Silver insisted merrily. "Someday."

"Alright. I'll give you that. Someday. Maybe." Brenda consented. "But definitely _not_ today. Today we've got to get over to the former Casa Walsh and help mom get everything set up."

"Oh, I think Cindy's got it pretty much covered." Silver stated, recalling how the elder Walsh woman had been happily buzzing around the kitchen earlier this morning when Silver had stopped by. Silver had never seen the woman quite so much in her element and she sometimes wondered what it would have been like to have a mother like that – a mother who enjoyed you inviting your friends over and cooking dinner for them.

"She's probably right. We'd probably just get in her way at this point." Brandon agreed.

"So what do we do for the next two hours?" Brenda asked, glancing down at her watch.

"Well, I was planning on visiting Kelly at the hospital. I promised her I'd stop by today and I don't think I'll have time after we all get together." Brandon made a grim expression and Silver could tell he was not looking forward to convincing everyone that they would all be looking out for Kelly's best interests if they all played along with the notion it was still 1998. Especially when it was obvious Brandon was not convinced yet himself.

"I have a lot of homework I need to catch up on." Now it was Silver's turn to make a face. Dixon and Annie, ever helpful, had both volunteered to pick up her assignments for her while she was out so she wouldn't fall behind. Silver had a hunch they both knew she wouldn't have asked them if they hadn't offered their services first.

"So what am I supposed to do?" Brenda frowned. "Sit on my hands and wait?"

Silver nodded, an impish smile playing across her lips. "Yeah, that. Or you could go visit Dylan at the BelAge Hotel and rehearse together."

"Silver!" Brenda exclaimed, her cheeks immediately flushing crimson and Silver giggled in delight. Her sister's friends were so much fun to tease.

"Silver's right, Bren." Brandon stated soberly. "You probably should talk to Dylan a bit before I tell everyone what they need to do. It might come as a bit of a shock to him."

"Though I'm sure he'd enjoy it!" Silver grinned.

"Yeah, well, let's not let him take advantage of the situation." Brenda grumbled, but Silver could read the older woman well enough to know that she was secretly pleased at the notion of carrying on with Dylan like they had when they were together.

"Or anyone for that matter." Brenda added suddenly, fixing her twin with a look that spoke volumes.

"Trust me, Bren." Brandon murmured softly. "I wouldn't take advantage of Kelly's vulnerability like that. As much as I would love to really believe things between us are like they were in 1998, I know they aren't. At least not yet."

"You never know, Brandon." Silver interjected, her tone soft. "Kelly may have had a surprise or two of her own if you had gotten to give her that ring like you planned."

"Hey! How'd you know about that?" It was now Brandon's turn to blush as Brenda eyed him suspiciously.

"Oh, lucky guess. That's all." Silver replied with mock-innocence, enjoying the baffled expression on Brandon's face. Did these two really not realize how badly they hid their true feelings? The _freshmen_ at West Beverly would eat them for breakfast if they attended school there now.

"I had better scoot if I'm going to get any of my homework done before the meeting, though." Silver continued. "Have fun 'not taking advantage of the situation', Brandon. You too, Brenda." She added with a quick wink before she rose out of her seat and left the room, leaving the Walsh twins alone with their private thoughts and feelings.

_Author's Notes:_

_*hides behind a rock* Alright, so I know it sucked, but didn't I warn you before you started reading it? Basically, that entire chapter was to enforce the idea that most of you have probably already guessed – everyone is going to pretend its 1998 so Kelly will regain her memory. Honestly, I don't know much about real amnesia cases because this sort of amnesia is incredibly rare, but it's very overused in movies and writing so I just ran with the fiction and tweeked it so it would work how I wanted it to work. _

_Now, the next chapter *should* be much better. Silver might not be able to turn into a fly and find herself in a certain room of the BelAge Hotel, but you sure can. :)_

_Cheers,_

_Jianna_


End file.
